Mist of Memory
by psychotic-coconut
Summary: Where did everyone's favorite purple-haired teenage mage come from? Some of us want to know, right? Well, here's my answer. WARNING: countless spoilers! Rated for mild language, violence, and to be safe. Please R&R! Completed! :D
1. Chapter One: Exposition

Okay…this is my first attempt at writing a FanFic…I'll let you know right now, this one is filled to the brim with spoilers! I'm just so obsessed with sweet likkle Erky that I made up his whole childhood that has absolutely no basis in fact from the game! anyway, no one really knows where he came from, so everyone decides they need to know and question him about it…long story short, this is where Erk decides to 'fess up' and tell them everything…but not without a fight first :) this first chapter here is all about the dreams he's been having lately…it'll make more sense in later chapters, I promise! I've kind of assumed that you readers will know what you need to know about Fire Emblem so this makes sense, so sorry if it gets a little confusing….

As far as disclaimers go, I didn't make up the whole concept of Fire Emblem (ha! I wish), and I didn't make up any of the characters. Well, I did make up one from this story, but she's not from the game XD Oh, and I get my ideas from everything, so if you see some sort of quote in here that you made up, let me know and I'll give you some credit…that's just not fair to all of you!

So…without further ado….chapter one!

* * *

**Chapter One: Exposition**

"Erk…? Erk! Wake up, darling!" a familiar voice called from somewhere far away. A few seconds later, Erk was shaken back into consciousness and out of another dream. Faintly sensing that someone was holding him, Erk opened his eyes, trying to identify the person. A lantern had been lit in the tent, and he could see by its dim light that it was a woman with long blonde hair, looking down at him with a concerned look.

"L-Lady Louise?" Erk managed to say in a rather raspy voice. "Why are you in here? Is something wrong? It's still dark…"

"Oh, I know…you were having a nightmare again, Erk…are you all right?" Louise inquired gently, feeling his forehead apprehensively. "It must have been horrible…" Erk looked down at his simple little 'bed'. It did, indeed, look like he had had a rough night, as everything was in complete disarray. "I know I shouldn't have woken you up, but you were talking in your sleep this time…" Erk didn't say anything. Maybe it was a good thing…it had been the same dream he'd been having for several weeks now, a reliving of his family's death. Though the memories were faint, he could still see a man and a woman, side by side, fighting innumerable amounts of armed men in a room filled with flames as a faint lullaby echoed inside his mind. It was all so long ago, but the scene was so vivid, it almost seemed like he had remembered it from the previous day.

"Is everything okay?" another familiar voice inquired softly from the doorway, jerking Erk out of his thoughts.

"I hope so…" Louise replied, hugging Erk closer to her. "Poor thing…he's all hot."

"Having a tough week, aren't we?" Pent, the voice of the newcomer, said dryly, stepping into view and kneeling down beside Louise. "Was it the same one again?"

"Yes…" Erk said, officially mortified now. "You two don't have to—"

"What are you talking about? Of course we do," Pent said in reply. "Besides, it's fun. Are you feeling all right?" he added concernedly. "You're really pale."

"I-I'll be fine," Erk informed both of them. "Don't worry about me, I'm not a baby; I can take care of myself." Pent and Louise looked at each other with raised eyebrows. They'd heard that one before. "I'm fine…really! You can go back to your tent now."

"Well…I feel a lot better now that I have your permission," Pent rolled his eyes. "What, is it illegal to show concern for you now?"

"Aw, Erk…" Louise cooed, stroking his very messed-up hair. "We're just making sure you're all right…you're like the baby boy I've never had!"

"I'm not a baby!" Erk protested, feeling his cheeks turn pink with embarrassment.

"Oh, all right…we'll leave you alone, then," Louise sighed, giving him one last squeeze before letting go. "You've got about four more hours until dawn, by the way…sweet dreams, darling!" she pecked him briefly on the cheek before standing up and walking out.

"Don't treat him like a child, Louise," Pent teased, ruffling up Erk's hair even more so it looked like a purple rat's nest on top of his head before following her out. "You know he hates that!" Erk sighed heavily after they left, trying fruitlessly to comb out his already unruly hair with his fingers. He gave up after a few minutes and fixed his bed again before lying down. He knew that they meant well, but it was still a bit annoying, even though they were a lot like his parents had been before…well, before they died.

Erk knew that he would never be able to get back to sleep now, but it was worth a try. He found himself staring at the ceiling for quite a while before eventually drifting off again.

It didn't seem like too long after that when he was woken up again, this time by Priscilla.

"Rise and shine, Erk!" she said cheerfully, letting all the sunlight in. Erk groaned and pulled the covers over his head. "You're lucky; Lord Hector slept in, so no one else woke up. He's kind of mad about that now, though, so I suggest you get up before he finds you sleeping…"

"All right, all right…I'm up," Erk replied sleepily, managing to pull himself up into a sitting position.

"Are you feeling okay?" Priscilla asked him, stooping down to feel his forehead. "Hmm…" she mused. "You seem better now…"

"Don't tell me…" Erk sighed. "Lady Louise told you I was sick?"

"No, you just look a little ill," Priscilla remarked. "No matter…do I get a hug?"

"Of course," Erk laughed, wrapping his arms around her. "Seeing you makes me feel a lot better…"

"Aww…I love you, too, Erk," Priscilla giggled before giving him a kiss. They were obviously in love…except Priscilla hadn't informed Raven of it yet. But that problem would come a little later. "You've haven't been having nightmares lately, have you?" she asked him anxiously.

"Well…" Erk started with a small sigh. "If by 'lately' you mean within the last few hours…"

"Really?" Priscilla said sympathetically. "…What do you even dream about?"

"Wha—? Oh…nothing, really…" Priscilla, lately, had been trying to get into Erk's head, and he wasn't exactly comfortable with it. "Just…you know…about my parents…and how they died…"

"Oh…" Priscilla trailed off, feeling rather awkward. "You've never really told me about that."

"It's not very interesting," Erk said evasively, getting up. "Come on, Priscilla, we'd better go before Hector gets mad…I wonder what's for breakfast?"

"Aw, come on!" Priscilla pouted as he left the tent. "Men…" she sighed in frustration, scampering off after him.

* * *

Like I said, it's my first attempt…not bad, eh:) I'll get chaptertwo up when I feel like it…it might be a while XD 


	2. Chapter Two: Complications

Yay! Chapter Two!

Okay, I know there's not a lot going on yet…but don't worry, it gets better.

I'd like to take this time to thank some of my reviewers:

** Jinn the Master Sage:** yes, I agree, Erk X Priscilla is one of the best pairings ever c(-: I'll be sure to get chapter three written soon…thank you so much!

Once again, I'd like to make it known that Fire Emblem is not mine, it is the masterpiece of those awesome peoples at Nintendo and Intelligent Systems…right, so none of these characters are mine…except for that one you haven't met yet, of course!

Now that you've read Chapter One and have become familiar with the main characters and stuff, I suppose you want to see what my freakish brain is going to cook up for them! I'll spare you the theatrics and just go ahead and tell you then, shall I? Please don't mind the more…er…contemporary speech they're using…

* * *

**Chapter Two: Complications**

After breakfast, things were starting to get a little more rushed than usual, as everyone had gotten up later than they were used to. Hector was trying to rush everyone along, and some people were starting to get a little annoyed, especially Raven, who had been up practically all night standing watch.

"Get out of the way!" Raven snapped at Erk, as he needed someone to snap at.

"Sorry," Erk said sheepishly, quickly stepping out of the way. No one messed with a sleep-deprived Raven…unless they _wanted_ to die, of course. Actually, no one dared to bother him when he _wasn't_ sleep-deprived, either. He just presented that sort of aura—get away from me or die!

"Is he being crabby again?" Priscilla inquired, having caught up to Erk. "He can be so annoying sometimes…" The term 'crabby', of course, was a bit of an understatement, but no one was going to tell her that in case Raven heard…he was just…scary. Which is probably why Priscilla hadn't bothered to tell him that she and Erk were in love. He might kill him or something, and that wouldn't be good.

"Hey! What are you two lovebirds doing just standing around?" Hector demanded of them, showing up out of nowhere with a book of Elfire. "We have to leave! …Nice… hair," he added to Erk, handing him the book with a quirked eyebrow. "Pent told me to give this to you…could you tell him I'm not his delivery boy! I have stuff to do!" with that parting statement, Hector ran off to yell at Farina and her sisters.

"Hector, why are you being so stupid?" Lyn demanded, running after him with Eliwood in tow. "You slept in for fifteen minutes! Big deal! It's not like a huge group of bandits are going to come up and ambush us or anything!" no sooner had she said this, Kent ran by, screaming his head off and acting like a chicken with its head cut off. It was actually pretty funny to watch, considering it was Kent.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! THE BANDITS ARE COMING, THE BANDITS ARE COMING!" he cried before running into a tree and passing out.

"…That was random," Lyn remarked after staring at him for a few seconds.

"I KNEW this was going to happen!" Hector said in frustration as the bandits approached. "Where the hell is my axe?"

"You mean the one you're holding?" Eliwood pointed out, unsheathing his sword.

"Um…yeah, that one! Why are you girls just standing there?" Hector added to the Pegasus sisters.

Pent showed up a few seconds later, seemingly upset about something.

"Hector!" he shouted indignantly, running after him. "What did you do with my book of Elfire?"

"Aww, man!" Erk said, disappointed. "I was sort of hoping he actually wanted me to have it!"

"Well, you might want to think about using it," Priscilla said rather calmly, considering a bandit with a large sword was leering at her some six feet away and running towards her.

"Huh?" Erk responded (very articulately, of course). Priscilla ran away, shrieking in terror. He looked around and spotted the bandit heading straight for him. "Uh oh…" Erk didn't work well under pressure, and there wasn't enough time to cast a spell anyway, so he did the only thing left to do: he ran away.

"Oh, hey, thanks," Pent said, snatching the book out of his arms as he ran past him and completely ignoring the bandit that was chasing him as he skimmed through the book. He dropped Nino's book of fire that he had 'borrowed' from her back on her head. "Thanks, Nino…"

"…" Jaffar snapped at him, indignant on Nino's behalf. So now Erk was completely defenseless (thanks to Pent; you just have to love that guy) as well as relying only on his feet to keep him alive. It obviously wasn't good enough to even trust them, as he tripped over a random rock. Actually, it was probably Guy's head, as he was still sleeping amidst this, but whatever.

In any case, Erk quickly found himself sprawled out on the ground and out of time. The ugly bandit cackled, showing nasty, yellowed, crooked teeth and raising his sword to strike down on the unfortunate mage. Of course, the smart thing to do would have been to get out of the way, but you probably wouldn't have much common sense in that given situation, either. That bandit person was _ugly_. Oh, yeah…he was fast, too. Erk tried to squirm out of his range, but it was too late. He closed his eyes tight and prepared himself for the inevitable strike, but it didn't come. There was a loud _clang!_ of metal upon metal right above him accompanied by a light breeze that smelled faintly of flowers. Erk opened his eyes just slightly and squinted up at a tall woman engaged in combat with the sword-wielding thug. She had long, wavy violet hair that cascaded down several inches past her shoulder blades and was wearing a simple black dress with a purple sash tied around her thin waist. She wore no armor and brandished a beautiful silver sword with intricate carvings—it looked as if her sword was made for someone very important, maybe even noble. Erk could only stare in wonder as she made quick work of the bandit. She turned only briefly to smile at him encouragingly and toss him a magic tome, then darted off. When Erk blinked, she was gone.

Naturally, this wasn't the best time to lose yourself in your thoughts, so Erk immediately sprang back into action. He would worry about her later.

"Hey, Erk!" Hector, after the mini-battle was won, shouted to (who else but) Erk. "Who was that girl? The one that saved you from certain doom? She was hot!"

"Yeah," Eliwood said enthusiastically. "I was going to ask her out, but she disappeared!" Lyn, behind him, scowled. He never paid any attention to _her_…it was always random girls that only showed up for a few seconds.

"Hey!" Hector said indignantly. "She's mine! Back off, Eliwood, you freak! Go find your own girl!"

"Uhhh…" Erk didn't quite know what to say. He had no idea who she was.

"There aren't any girls around here that are _that_ cute!" Eliwood protested. Lyn made an indignant noise.

"Well, when she comes to save your life again or whatever," Hector said to Erk, completely ignoring Eliwood. "Send her to me, would you?"

"_I _know who she is," Raven informed them.

"You do?" Hector cried at the same time Eliwood demanded "Who is she?". The result was a jumbled mess of words, but Raven seemed to get the picture.

"Yes…she's my future bride," he said smugly.

"Oh, go boil your head!" Sain snapped.

"That's not fair!" Guy protested.

"Owww…my head…" Kent, who had just woke up, moaned, massaging his foot.

"Well, whoever she is," Lyn declared crossly. "I hope she doesn't come back!" there was a murmur of agreement from most of the other girls. That girl was stealing all the men, and they didn't even know who she was!

"_You_ don't like her, do you?" Priscilla inquired dangerously of Erk, seeming to say 'if you do, you're dead!'.

"No, no, of course not!" Erk said hastily. Priscilla's wrath was almost as bad as Raven's. "I appreciate that she helped me out and everything, but I don't want to go out with her or anything like that…besides, I like you a lot more…"

"You'd better," Priscilla warned him. Erk didn't respond. He suddenly thought he knew who she was…

* * *

Heh…I think I'll leave all of you with that. I'll get chapter three up sometime, and in the meantime, I'll keep torturing Erk. That's a lot of fun, you know. Ha ha I'm just kidding…I love my Erky! Okay, I'll stop being crazy now… 

Who could this mysterious purple-haired girl be? And why are all the boys obsessed with her? Ahem…perhaps you will find out in Chapter Three…


	3. Chapter Three: A Mockingbird

Okay, so here it is…the moment you've been waiting for…sort of.

Yeah, it's chapter three! Yay!

Before I get around to thanking my reviewers (you peoples are great XD), I'd like to introduce you to my new muse! Pretty much all the authors on Fan Fiction I've read have little muses to make comments before and after their stories, so I went out and got myself one. I really wanted Pent, but he said that he had too many people that he had to be a muse for and recommended that I get a generic muse. So, here he is…say hi, generic Pent.

Pent: w00t!

Since he's generic, he can only say one phrase…there were several to choose from, such as "well, that sucked", "pfft", and "umm…", but I feel that 'w00t' is the most motivational.

On that note, I'd like to thank my reviewers!

Pent: w00t!

**Nightmare: **oh, stop it…you're making me blush XD I'm glad you like it so far, and keep thinking that she's his mum, we'll see what happens. :) Did I really have you in tears from laughing? Haha sorry…

**Jenkins: **awww…thanks, you're all too sweet hee hee I'm thinking of getting another story out sometime within the next few months, maybe you'll like that, too.

"**Lil":** nice name lol thanks for your support!

**Serra's Evil Twin: **you think you've figured me out, eh? Well, we'll see…I read your profile; doesn't it bother you that Erk's with someone else? -gasp- I'm just kidding lol thank you very much; I'll be sure to update again soon…

**Cool-Chan:** Er…I don't actually remember any little girl from chapter 30 XD my friends and I made up this character all by ourselves :) I'll have to look it over again when I get there.

All right…that being said (I love all my reviewers, they're all so sweet to me!), I'd like to make it known, once again, that the wonderful game of Fire Emblem does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form but instead belongs to the kind folks at Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. There is one character I made up, though. You'll hear more about her soon. :)

Also, as a quick note, I have no idea why they won't let me put symbols in here, so the first line break you come to is actually a different paragraph...just to make sure there's no confusion.

* * *

**  
Chapter Three: A Mockingbird**

There wasn't a lot of time to stop and think about what had just happened before Hector and Eliwood rushed everyone off again. As it turned out, that battle was only the first and shortest of all the battles they had to go through that day, and everyone gladly set up camp when the last one was finally over, completely exhausted. Hector randomly chose Kent and Sain to be the guards, a decision neither of them were too happy about. No was awake enough to care that they probably wouldn't do the best job and protest, so they got to be the guards.

They didn't do a very good job of it, though, as someone managed to 'infiltrate' (walk right into) the camp when they had fallen asleep. They didn't exactly grasp the concept of shifts that well. This person, a mere silhouette in the moonlight, sneaked easily past the snoring cavaliers and slipped silently through the shadows cast by makeshift tents until they found the one they were looking for. The person stepped inside into the dim lighting. This particular individual happened to be a girl—a girl with long, wavy, purple hair and (yep, you guessed it) clad in a black dress. Her almond-shaped, inquisitive, violet eyes looked around the interior, seeing a lit oil lamp sitting beside a sleeping boy, his head resting upon an open book in slumber with his long purple hair framing his face. It appeared that he had fallen asleep while he had been reading it.

The girl smiled, walked carefully over to his other side, (she didn't want to upset the oil lamp on accident) and knelt down beside him. She reached out and gently brushed away a strand of his hair from Erk's face, tilting her head curiously to see him better. Could this be the one she had been searching for all these years? He didn't look much older than fifteen. Besides, he had the same wavy hair, the same shaped eyes…

"Awfully cute, aren't you?" she giggled, stroking his cheek. "Even after all these years…" she noticed with concern that he didn't seem to be sleeping very soundly, as if he were having a bad dream. "What's wrong, love?" she asked softly, though she wasn't expecting an answer. "There must be trouble in paradise…" she lifted his head gently and held him close, starting to sing an old lullaby her mother had sung to her eleven years ago before her untimely death with a voice that would put the seraphim to shame.

However, while she had been singing her song, a man had appeared in the doorway, watching them in silence. That man happened to be none other than Raven, who was looking even scarier than usual (if that's possible), his sword drawn at his side.

"My, wasn't that lovely," he said softly, seeming almost sardonic in his congratulations while applauding her quietly. "You're a regular mockingbird, my dear. No need to be frightened," he added with a quirked eyebrow when she looked up with a gasp, her violet eyes widened in fear. "I've got a right mind to let you pass unharmed…but answer me this first: who are you, and what are you doing here? Taken a fancy to young Erk here, have we?"

"Erk?" the girl repeated blankly. "This isn't—?"

"Ah, so you've been mistaken, is that it?" Raven's other eyebrow went up when she started to look very confused. "Hm. Pity. So, who are you? Would you care to grace me with a name?"

"Erk?" she laughed softly to herself, ignoring Raven completely after contemplating this new information. "My, isn't that clever? Such an excellent alias."

"Alias?" Raven's eyebrows went still higher. "What do you mean, 'alias'? And what in blazes is your name? Or shall I continue to call you 'mockingbird'?"

"I beg your pardon, sir," the girl replied, setting Erk down and covering him up better with his cloak. "But I'm not about to tell you. Call me what you will, as we'll probably never meet again…farewell."

"Now, that's not very nice," Raven remarked. She smiled secretively, took the oil lamp from the floor, and blew out the light. "Blast," he murmured to himself as he felt something slide past him, leaving him with only a sweet scent of flowers as her hurried footsteps faded into the night. "I'll find out who that woman is someday…I wonder if she can cook as well?" he mused, taking leave of the tent.

* * *

"Your little guardian angel was here again last night, Erk," Raven informed Erk the next morning at breakfast. Lowen was freaking out in the background, as Hyperion (Heath's wyvern) was trying to go back for seconds on his cookware.

"Get away from that, you bloody pigeon!" Lowen snapped, whacking him upside the head with a wooden spoon when Hyperion was about to munch on a pot. Heath was too busy talking with all the other guys that were obsessed with Raven's little mockingbird to notice when Hyperion started chasing poor Lowen around.

"My guardian angel?" Erk repeated, watching this chase with mild interest. "I didn't know she was my guardian angel. Would we be able to see her if she was?"

"Well, you know what I mean," Raven said impatiently, trying to get his attention again. Of course, Pent had told him that this was near impossible. "Do you know who she is?"

"No, I don't," Erk replied semi-truthfully. "How'd she get in? I thought Kent and Sain were on guard?"

"They were asleep when I found her in your tent." Raven said. That pretty much summed it up.

"She was in my tent?" Erk repeated, alarmed.

"Don't flatter yourself, Erk…she wasn't about to try anything. She was singing something to you. I would tell you how it went, but I don't remember the words that well."

"Singing?" Erk repeated blankly.

"Well. She's a mockingbird, and you're a regular parrot. You needn't repeat everything I say. I know I said it."

"Did it sound like…ah…a lullaby?" Erk inquired softly.

"Yes," Raven's eyebrows went up. "Are you sure you don't know anything about this girl? I feel as though I've seen her somewhere."

"I know the feeling," Erk agreed, avoiding the question.

"She wouldn't tell me her name…in fact, she was pretty eager to get out when I found her. Am I that frightening?"

"Ah…" Erk didn't trust himself to answer that.

"Well, well…how convenient. My two favorite men in the same place," a familiar voice giggled behind Erk. "Good morning, darling," Priscilla said, sitting down beside Erk and giving him a kiss. "Did you sleep well?"

"…What's this?" Raven said suspiciously, watching them. "Something I should know about, sister?"

"Oops…" Priscilla said sheepishly under her breath.

"Didn't you tell him?" Erk asked her in alarm.

"Er…not…exactly…um…I suggest you run…" this was an excellent suggestion, as Raven didn't appear too happy about this, which was made evident by his snarling expression. That usually meant 'doom' for the recipient. Thank goodness he didn't have his sword.

"I love you, Priscilla, and you can have all my stuff if I die," Erk said hastily, giving her a quick hug before running for his life. Raven tore off in pursuit, despite Priscilla's protests.

"Oh, dear," Priscilla sighed. "Why is it that I was blessed enough to have such an overprotective brother? Raven!" she shouted, getting up to run after them. "Raven, I can explain! Please don't hurt him!"

"That Erk is one lucky son of a bitch," Hector was muttering to himself, referring to his relations with the much sought-after mystery girl. "Okay, never mind," he said as Erk ran by, screaming his head off with Raven not far behind. "He's not that lucky."

"Maybe she'll pay more attention to one of us instead," Eliwood mused as Lowen and Hyperion ran past them as well.

"Why is everyone chasing each other around?" Lyn wondered, having finally showed up. "Did Raven find out about Erk and Priscilla?"

"Apparently," Hector remarked. "That must really suck."

"And Lowen hit Hyperion with a spoon," Eliwood informed her.

"He what?" Heath said incredulously. "You'd think he'd have learned not to by now. Oi! Hyperion!" he called to the insolent wyvern. "Cut that out! Sit!" and thus, Hyperion stopped chasing Lowen and sat obediently. "Good boy," he said, tossing him a cookie.

"I don't think that trick'll work with Raven," Hector said aloud to himself.

"Oi! Raven!" Heath shouted at Raven in experiment. "Cut that out! Sit!" Raven stopped momentarily to give him a look that clearly said 'what the hell?' before chasing Erk again. "Nope…it didn't work."

Priscilla eventually managed to restrain her brother and console him a little bit while apologizing several times over, leaving Erk to collapse to the ground in exhaustion.

"Erk?" she inquired gently, looking over at him. "Are you all right, sweetheart? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I don't think so," Erk replied, crawling over to her cautiously, as she was sitting on Raven.

"You die at dawn," Raven said ominously to Erk, glaring at him with as much menace as he could muster. His position wasn't exactly dignified.

"Oh, shut up, Raven," Priscilla snapped at him, jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow. "Stop bullying poor Erk! We're in love! Get over it!" Raven muttered darkly to himself as she resumed her conversation with Erk. "I'm sorry, Erk. He's being awfully rude, isn't he? I wish he wouldn't over-react like this so much!" she added pointedly, narrowing her eyes at her brother.

"Well, excuse me for trying to protect my little sister from such bad influences. Don't roll your eyes at me!" he added indignantly. "I told you he was nothing but trouble. Look at him! He's the devil in disguise, I tell you!"

"I thought I told you to shut up?" Priscilla reminded him. "And there's no way he could be the devil, you twit. He's far too sweet."

"That's what he wants you to think!"

"You just keep lying to yourself, Raven…whatever helps you sleep at night. Come on, Erk…" she said, offering Erk a hand to help him up. "No one wants to be with such a fusspot."

"Well…" Erk remarked as they walked off, hand-in-hand. "That could have been worse."

"That's the spirit," Priscilla said cheerfully. "He really does like you better than all the others, you know…just be sure you don't break my heart, or he'll come after you for sure."

"I don't plan on it," Erk smiled.

"Awwww…how sweet," someone cooed behind them, watching them as they kissed.

"Who the hell is that?" Priscilla wondered, looking behind Erk after pulling away. "Oh, crap…bandits…"

* * *

o.O the bandits are coming. 

Goodness, they're intrusive, aren't they?

Pent: w00t!

Yes, I agree. Anyway, be sure to review if you think you want to…I love reviews, you know ;) I'll get chapter four up ASAP, but in the meantime, enjoy!


	4. Chapter Four: Wrong Turn

So…here it is. The fourth chapter. Rejoice…cry…whatever.

Pent: w00t.

Yeah, whatever lol so, here's to all my reviewers:

**Cool-Chan: **uh oh…you didn't get in trouble with your mom, did you? O.o lol I'm glad I'm keeping my genres straight c(-:

**Paladin2007:** blehhhh…XP no offence to anyone else, of course, but I don't think Serra is worthy of my Erky's love…I would pick Erk X Nino over Erk X Serra…and if you know me at all, you'd know that that's pretty bad…but I'm glad you like it XD

**BeautyofReglay:** thank you for reminding me how to spell 'Reglay' XD I was spelling it 'Reglae'…anyway, I thank you for your compliments :3

**Serra's evil twin: **ohhh, so now I've got you stumped again? Hee hee it's probably just as well :) thank you!

I really appreciate that all of you enjoy my work…it makes me feel so happy inside hee hee

Pent: w00t!

Yeah…what he's trying to say is that Fire Emblem doesn't belong to me. It belongs to…well, you know who it belongs to…Nintendo…Intelligent Systems…

Pent: w00t.

All right, all right! I know none of you want to hear all this. So, without any further efforts to waste your time, here's chapter four.

* * *

**Chapter Four: Wrong Turn**

"What are we going to do? They're…everywhere…" Priscilla whispered to Erk, trying to keep calm as she looked around to see more and more bandits surrounding them.

"I don't know…I didn't bring anything with me…did you?" Erk replied in an undertone, holding her close as he quickly summed up the situation. The odds were definitely against them.

"Not a thing…" Priscilla said softly, sounding worried at this point.

"…Maybe we can run…"

"I wouldn't recommend that," a different voice commented beside them. Both of them turned, startled, to see the very same woman that had saved Erk before, Raven's mockingbird. She smiled at their shaken appearances, looking the opposite of how they felt: completely calm. She winked at Erk as she drew her sword from her scabbard at her side slowly. "You two make such a cute couple…you just need to stop trying to get yourselves killed. Don't run any faster than your guardian angel can fly, remember." She grinned at their dumbstruck faces and immediately set to work. "Anyone else want to die today?" she said sweetly after at least a dozen of them lay slain. The remainder took the hint and raced off, screaming for their mothers. "That's what I thought," she snarled, then turned back to Erk and Priscilla, looking very cheerful. "Well…have a nice day, you two."

"Wait!" Erk cried as she took off in an instant. "Who are—you…" he trailed off, disappointed, as she had completely vanished. "Er…are…are you all right, Priscilla?"

"Hm? Me? Oh, I'm fine, don't worry," Priscilla replied distractedly. "…How does she do that?"

"I have no idea," Erk said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Come on…we'd better head back…I think I've had enough life-threatening experiences for one week."

"Hey! Where've you lovebirds been?" Pent called to them when they got back to camp. "You missed breakfast!"

"And don't expect me to make you any," Lowen said crossly, not at all eager to expose any of his cookware to the aforementioned wyvern again.

"That's okay," Priscilla replied as Erk's stomach growled obnoxiously. "We're not that hungry."

"O…kay, then," Pent said, quirking an eyebrow. " 'Not that hungry', eh, Erk?"

"I guess not," Erk shrugged.

"Oh, but—" Louise started concernedly, but was interrupted.

"They'll be fine, Louise," Pent informed her. "It's not the first time someone's missed a meal, and no one's passed out yet."

"_Yet_," Louise murmured.

"There's no time to chat, you people!" Hector, showing up out of nowhere, barked at them. "Come on, I want to be in Badon by sunset!"

"That's…er…another five days' walk," Pent reminded him.

"You think I care?" Hector spat before walking off. Pent rolled his eyes.

"He's a slave driver, that one," he remarked.

* * *

By sunset, they were nowhere near the destination Hector had in mind. In fact, they were further from it than where they started out.

"This place looks rather familiar…" Louise commented to Pent.

"Yeah, it does," Pent agreed, then glanced at a sign that said 'REGLAY—5 MILES'. "Uhh…Hector?" Hector looked in the direction Pent pointed and jumped.

"What the—?" he spluttered. "How the hell did we get in Etruria? Lyn, have you been reading that map right?"

"Of course I have!" Lyn said indignantly, pulling out a large, folded sheet of parchment from her bag. "Yeah, see, it says right here that we should be in Epjom…or something like that." Eliwood looked over her shoulder.

"Uh…Lyn?" he said tentatively, fearful of her wrath after he said this. "You're holding it…er…upside-down…" he turned it over so the city they were 'supposed to be in' read 'Worde'. "We were supposed to turn right instead of left at Albuquerque, anyway…"

"Ugh! I _knew_ it!" Hector shouted in aggravation. "I never should have let a _woman_ have the map! They can't read them, apparently!"

"Well, if you would've let us stop and ask for directions—" Lyn started to reply angrily before she was interrupted.

"You mean if we'd have turned right at freaking _Albuquerque_—" Hector snapped back. "Wherever the freaking hell _that_ is—"

"So…um…do you want to stop and rest at my castle before we continue tomorrow?" Pent suggested.

"Gahhhhh, this _sucks!_" Hector said, officially annoyed. That would set them back quite a few days, and they didn't have that kind of time to kill.

"That sounds like a good idea," Eliwood told Pent timidly as Hector proceeded to whack his head repeatedly on a rock.

"That kills brain cells, you know," Matthew informed him. "And you don't have many to waste."

"…" Jaffar laughed at this remark.

"Well, tomorrow, we can go from Reglay and take a shortcut through the ruins of Kuivanen—" Pent mused, but Eliwood interrupted.

"Ruins?" he echoed. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," Pent replied. "It happened about…oh…eleven years ago now. Do you remember Kuivanen, Erk?"

"Yeah, I remember it…" Erk said softly.

"Wouldn't you have been four when the city fell?"

"Er…yeah…four."

"Well, basically what happened was bandits invaded the city, burned down the castle, and murdered everyone they could find…no one survived; in fact, they found everyone's bodies except for the marquess' two children, but most people are pretty sure that they were killed, too." Pent explained to Eliwood. "How old were they, Erk? Six and four?"

"Er…yeah…four…and six."

"They were little, then?" Eliwood clarified.

"Yeah, they sort of were. Everyone was really upset about the whole thing." Pent replied. "I met the family when the four-year-old was just a baby, but I can't seem to remember what their names were…I was a teenager, so I didn't really pay much attention. You know how it is. Are you okay over there, Erk?"

"Um…yeah, I'm fine…I'm just a little…hungry."

"Oh. Well, anyway," Pent continued, talking to Eliwood again. "They built this lovely little cathedral near the ruins to honor all of those people who had died and the family…people searched in the ruins for something to use as a memorial, but the only thing that looked even remotely like it was supposed to was a portrait of the family. It had a huge wooden beam over it that fell over it, and, strangely, it protected it from the fire. It was only a little scorched at the edges, so they hung it in there…maybe Hector would let us take a look tomorrow—" Hector was still banging his head on the rock, extremely frustrated. "—Just to check it out. I don't really remember the story that well, but someone there might be able to tell you more about it."

"You know what? I can't remember their names, either. That's sort of pathetic, considering I was almost betrothed to the little boy," Priscilla mused.

"Really?" Erk said, surprised.

"Yes, but then people started to protest against arranged marriages, so it didn't work out that well…I don't know if he's alive or not, anyway, so that relationship is pretty much dead, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess so," Pent remarked with raised eyebrows. "I think it'd be rather boring to be married to a dead person."

* * *

"Oh my goodness, we are so off course, it's not even funny…" Hector, who had a terrible headache, was saying when they arrived at Castle Reglay.

"That's all right…just be sure you don't sleep in too long," Eliwood quipped.

"Gah…we could go to Ostia from here. It's on our way now."

"Well, that's good. We could use some more supplies, anyway."

"…I _knew _we should've turned right at Albuquerque…"

"Oh, get over it," Lyn said, slapping him upside the head. "So, how far away is Kuivanen from here, Pent?"

"Not that far, actually. About a half hour's walk southwest…it's right on our way, Hector, don't worry," he added to Hector, who looked like he was about to object, before going on. "A lot of people thought that the bandits that destroyed Kuivanen were actually after _my_ family but found the wrong city. It was lucky for us, of course, but not so lucky for them... Bandits are pretty stupid, so it's very possible."

"They were going to do that to Reglay?" Lyn gasped. "That would have been…disastrous! The entire country—no, the _continent_—"

"I know," Pent agreed grimly. "And you wouldn't have me. That's even worse."

* * *

About an hour later, nearly everyone was asleep. The only exceptions were Pent and Louise, who were talking to random people of Reglay that had missed them, and Erk, who was having some trouble getting to sleep. Not only did he feel weird sleeping alone in his own room, which he hadn't had the opportunity to experience in a very long while, but old memories—not very cheerful ones, mind you, as they were also the ones causing his nightmares—were bouncing around, coming out of their hiding places in his mind. After a while, feeling troubled, he got up, got dressed, and attempted to sneak out of the castle. He was almost to the door when someone's voice called his name.

"Erk?" Pent said quizzically, noticing him from the next room. "Where are you going?"

"Uh…I…" Erk quickly made something up that was partly true. "I'm going for a walk."

"Oh." Pent accepted this answer.

"Don't stay out too long, darling," Louise piped up as he opened the door. "We have to leave earlier than we usually do tomorrow."

"All right…" Erk replied, then walked outside, closing the door behind him. It was a very nice summer night outside; the temperature was perfect, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky to douse the light of the full moon as Erk wandered around, trying to look like he didn't have any particular destination in mind just in case Louise was babying him again and trying to make sure he was safe. Keeping a wary eye out for danger, he took the path leading roughly southwest…to Kuivanen.

He didn't know what he'd find there. He didn't even believe it to be completely safe. But he was going, anyway. He didn't want anyone to worry if he was gone a long time, though, so he picked up his pace a little bit and made it there in twenty minutes. A short distance away, the church stood on a hill, its stained glass windows shining brightly through the darkness and casting faintly colored shadows upon the ground.

_It would really suck if I came all this way and the door was locked_, Erk thought to himself, walking up to the ornate wooden doors. Reaching for the carved iron handle, he tested this theory and found that the doors were unlocked. After a tiny peek inside, Erk stepped quietly inside and eased the heavy door shut behind him. Taking care not to call any attention to himself, he looked around, noticing the many silver columns lining the walls with miniscule angels carved into their bases, the high, domed ceiling—

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a familiar voice said beside him. He wheeled around to face the source. He didn't realize anyone else was in there and was therefore very surprised. "Hello, little brother…"

* * *

Ha ha you're all going to hate me for stopping there, aren't you?

Pent: w00t…

Well, I think the suspense is hilarious, myself. See if you can solve anything from that and tell me what you think…chapter five will be along sometime…hopefully within the week…

Pent: w00t!

Oh, and just to clear things up for all you people who looked at the word 'Kuivanen' and freaked out, it's pronounced quee-vuh-nen; 'quee' as in queen, 'vuh' as in Vanessa, and 'nen' as in...er...nentist...quee-vuh-nen. XD


	5. Chapter Five: Secrets

Sorry for the long wait for this chapter and all…server problems don't help me out very much. O.o

Pent: _(scolding)_ w00t!

Okay, yeah, he's right; it was partially my fault for being lazy XD anyway…to business…more review replies while I make you wait! –evil laugh-

**Serra's Evil Twin: **haha I figured someone would be mad at me XD

**Darkdreamer17:** ewww it's my poetry writer XP (lol internal joke) all of you have to bow down and worship her; she wrote Erky's lullaby for me! –worships- heh heh Erk _is_ adorable, isn't he:D

**Cool-chan: **What did Pent say about Hector? –ish confused- sorry, I'm too lazy to go back and see all the possible answers to my own question XD lol I think those are the ruins that always get attacked on the second turn which I can never reach…oh, well, I just started a new game, and my brother just restarted, too, so I'm S-K-rewed for a while :) It's not that I don't like Lowen, he's just a dork XD

**BeautyofReglae: **wow…everyone thinks they've got me figured out XD well, let's see if it lives up to your expectations. I don't mind if you use my spelling; it's probably not the first time someone's used it XD I'll just try to be politically correct in some aspect of my writing, anyway :)

Not that many reviews this time…oh, well, it's probably because of the server problems…I hope.

Pent: _(pointedly) _…w00t.

Hey! I'm not a crappy writer! –smacks generic Pent upside the head- …I hope…

As well as posting my disclaimer—Fire Emblem does not belong to me in any way and instead belongs to the geniuses at Nintendo and Intelligent Systems—, I just wanted to remind you before I start that this fic is filled with spoilers…as far as I know, Kuivanen isn't a real city in Elibe, there isn't a purple-haired girl following them around in the game, and this is a work of fiction—everything that happens here is part of my imagination and any semblance to actual people, places, or events is entirely coincidental. No, seriously. It is. That being said, let us continue…

* * *

**Chapter Five: Secrets**

"I—I'm sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone else," Erk said quickly, backing away from the girl who had saved his life twice already.

"No, I really don't think I do," she commented lightly. "I mean, it's quite obvious. It's a good thing no one can remember our names, otherwise they'd have you figured out…but, you know," that signature secretive smile crossed her face again as she surveyed him. "I'm still just happy you're alive; I thought I was the only one that survived. How have you been, _Emmanuel?_"

"Now, really, I think you must have me confused with—with some other person you know," Erk said, laughing nervously and backing up more towards the door. "I think I'd best be going now; someone might worry—"

"Right…well, I'm not going to let ignore the life you could have had forever, you know. Go if you must…I don't think you know who I am, anyway…" Erk, officially freaked out, immediately rushed to the door, but, just before he could touch the handle, the girl started singing again; the same familiar tune she sang to him while he had been sleeping, just loud enough for him to hear.

" _The stars sparkle in the sky  
__The moon shines for you;  
__Clouds fly on so high  
__And I sing "I love you";  
__The wind whispers softly  
__Your name, 'Emmanuel'.  
__Go to sleep, my darling,  
__And all will be well.  
__  
__Magic floats through your dreams  
__And keeps you safe from harm;  
__You fly among the moonbeams,  
__Your eyes are filled with charm.  
__The wind whispers softly  
__Your name, 'Emmanuel'.  
__Go to sleep, my darling,  
__And all will be well. _"

Just as the girl had evidently suspected, Erk had stopped and looked over at her as she sang out the last note. He searched for words for a second, then said softly, "…Iris?" the girl, Iris, smiled again and nodded. Before Erk could stop himself, he ran back to her side and stepped into her warm embrace. "I thought you were dead…"

"I think everyone did," Iris replied. "So…when did you plan on telling your little girlfriend you're the son of Marquess Kuivanen, Emmanuel? I really think she ought to know, don't you?"

* * *

Erk didn't get back to castle Reglay until very late that night; around two o'clock in the morning. By that time, even Pent and Louise had gone to bed and everything was very quiet when he snuck back in and tiptoed to his room. Once again, he couldn't seem to get to sleep, but this time it was for a different reason. If he told anyone about his past—including his real name—would they still trust him? Would they even believe it? The thought of losing Priscilla to a stupid lie he had been using for eleven years just to protect himself made him feel sick. This new nightmare haunted his dreams until Pent woke him up again at dawn—after two hours of sleep. 

"Nice to see you're back," he remarked. "How late were you out last night? You're skinny enough without all that exercise, you know. Louise had herself in a tizzy worrying about you."

"Oh," Erk replied sleepily. "My apologies."

"We've got to leave in about—oh, five minutes, I think Hector said—" Erk's eyes widened in horror. "—so I suggest you get up or something." with that, Pent left him to get dressed and do something with his hair at top speed.

"You're late," Hector informed him crossly when he finally showed up outside.

"Yeah, I know," Erk said, trying to catch his breath. "I had to find something to eat; not eating breakfast is really bad for your meta—"

"I'm sure your metabolism isn't going to mind too much, Erk," Hector interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Besides, you're too skinny, anyway." Erk scowled slightly as Hector proceeded to bark out orders to everyone else. They were _really_ off course and thirty seconds behind schedule—thanks to Erk, as Hector insisted upon adding. This made several people roll their eyes expressively. Thirty seconds was a completely different story from fifteen minutes, after all, and certainly wasn't as bad for scheduling. No one was looking forward to meeting Nergal, anyway, so thirty seconds could be a blessing. Shortly after Hector's long spiel about his plans, it was time to move out—quickly, with no stops for food until it was time to stop for the day.

"Can't we stop for a few minutes and see the cathedral?" Lyn pleaded as they passed through Kuivanen twenty-five minutes later.

"No," Hector replied without looking back.

"Please?" Lyn pleaded.

"No," Hector retained firmly. "We aren't stopping…if you wanted to see a pretty little church, you should have gotten up earlier." Lyn scowled at his evilness, but said nothing.

"So, when's the wedding, you two?" Iris, who had just ran up to them and fell into line between Erk and Priscilla, who were chatting about random things.

"I beg your pardon?" Priscilla replied, looking down at her.

"Well, you're getting married, aren't you?" Iris persisted, making Erk blush.

"They are _not_!" Raven said loudly in front of them.

"Shut up, Raven," Priscilla said to him irritably. When she turned back to talk to Iris again, she realized with a jump of surprise that she had vanished again. "She doesn't stay around too long, does she?" she remarked to Erk.

"No, she doesn't," Erk agreed.

"Who doesn't?" Raven, who had just had the courtesy to look back, asked curiously.

"Your little friend," Priscilla replied. "You know…the mockingbird?"

"She was just here?"

"Um…yeah. Didn't you notice?"

"Ah. Yes, that would make sense. Just like a wildflower…you take them from their roots and they'll die within a few days in a vase. That's all right; I'll catch her someday."

"Er…okay," Priscilla said, quirking an eyebrow. "And why would you want a mockingbird, again?"

"She'd make a lovely wife for me, don't you think?"

"For you, Raven?" Priscilla said, surprised. "I didn't know you felt any sort of affection for anything. Besides, I think she'd probably be scared to sing for you."

"I would," Wil commented from behind them. "Of course, I'm not a girl or a mockingbird, so I suppose I wouldn't know."

* * *

About an hour after sunset, they seemed to be quite a distance away from Ostia and everyone was begging Lowen for food, so it was decided that they should stop for the night. Raven actually volunteered to stand guard, and no one opposed this proposition. Of course, no one looked into this very much to realize that he was just hoping to see Iris again, but he was a way better guard than Kent and Sain ever were. About an hour after everyone decided to retire to their tents, Raven, sword in hand, was watching for any sign of movement for quite a while before something stirred behind him. He wheeled around just in time to see the very tip of a shadow whisk away behind a row of tents. He immediately followed stealthily afterwards and soon saw someone skulking around, trying to find a specific person. 

"You know, sometimes I think he's hiding something…did he ever tell you where he came from?" Pent's voice was saying quietly to someone else in his tent (hopefully Louise) as he raced off after the intruder. "I mean, all I know about him is that he's an orphan and he's fifteen. He says he's Etrurian, but—hello! Who are _you_?" he added suddenly in surprise.

"Er…sorry, I was just looking for a friend of mine," a female voice replied apologetically. "Sorry to bother you; I'll just leave…"

"Oh. All right. Well, don't steal anything or something crazy like that; otherwise I'll have to sic Raven on you. Anyway, Louise, before that happened—oh. Hi, Raven."

"I'll just take this from you, shall I?" Raven said coolly, taking a horrified Iris by the shoulders and steering her out of the tent.

"She wasn't bothering anybody, really," Louise called after him in Iris' defense. "Oh, dear…I hope he doesn't hurt her…"

"So, little miss mockingbird…what are you doing up at this hour?" Raven inquired almost disdainfully as he led his 'prisoner' towards Eliwood's tent, as he seemed to be the only Lord that was still awake.

"I wasn't going to steal anything, if that's what you mean," Iris replied irritably. "And I would appreciate it, sir, if you were to let me—" Raven interrupted her with a derisive laugh.

"Let you go?" he laughed humorlessly. "Not a chance, my dear. Not unless you think you can best me in a fight."

"And if I could?" Iris retorted. "Would you let me come and go as I please?" Raven laughed again, this time with actual amusement.

"Maybe I should let you in on a little secret, my dear…" he bent down to whisper in her ear. "_I never lose._"

"Right, and is that because you never fight with anyone to begin with? I find it rather cowardly that you won't even let me stand for myself," Iris said. This one hit a nerve, as she knew it would.

"I," Raven growled. "Am not a coward, miss."

"Oh?" Iris smiled. "And how am I to know that?"

"You would dare challenge me? A mercenary?" Raven said, thinking he had won this battle of wits. "Without even a weapon?"

"I'm not afraid to cross blades with any man," Iris replied silkily, then, as he hadn't restrained her arms, drew her sword from the scabbard at her waist with a long, metallic _shhhink!_ "I _do _have a sword, by the way."

"All right," Raven replied, pulling out his sword as well and releasing her. "You can certainly sing, my mockingbird, but can you dance, as well?"

"Of course," Iris said, smiling, then added softly, "You know, it's a terrible sin to kill a mockingbird…"

"Then I shall have to go to confession, won't I?"

"Hm…we'll see about that," Iris replied, her smile widening. "And you'd better not go easy on me, sir…I'm not one you should trifle with."

"No? How long have you been wielding a sword?" Raven asked with interest.

"Hm…I'd say abouttwelve years…out of seventeen."

"Seventeen? Oh, good…I thought you were Erk's mother or something." Raven said, looking very relieved as he set his stance and held his sword out in front of him.

"Good heavens, no!" Iris cried, crossing her sword with his, making a tiny _clink_ as the silver material of her blade clashed against his steel. "But I do know him quite well."

"Silver?" Raven said, looking at her sword with an air of surprise.

"Only the best," she responded cheerfully. "Why, you don't have one?"

"Can't afford it," Raven muttered bitterly.

"Mine was…oh…let's call it an…_inheritance_."

"Ah," Raven said, impressed. "So…shall we begin?"

* * *

Okay…I'll leave you all with that…I still need to research writing swordfights, so sorry if it's a little lame XD 

Pent: _(sucking up) _w00t.

Aww, thanks! –hugs generic Pent-

Anyway, I'd like to make a note for those who plan on reviewing…I recently had a review that I had to delete because of its inappropriate language, as it completely threw off the rating I have on my story. **Please, _please_, don't post such vulgar terms such as the 'f-bomb' or other such language in your reviews**…you won't ever see it in my writing, and I implore you not to use it while you are…ahem…giving me _constructive criticism_. If you don't like it, please don't just say simply 'it sucked!' but give me a suggestion as to how I could make it better…failure to comply will result with my generic muse sentencing you to never-ending Elfire spells on your head. Thank you for your cooperation, and I'll get chapter six up as soon as I can.


	6. Chapter Six: The Truth Hurts

After such a long wait…

Pent: w00t!

Okay, maybe not as long as you would have liked…here's chapter six! But first, there are some preliminaries we should get started with: first and foremost, review replies!

**No name: **It's just you, miss/mister no name! Iris is NOTHING like Serra, and I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything like that again –faints- thank you very much X.x Serra is evil, mental, and extremely annoying…not like Iris at all. Sorry.  
**Pureauthor: **Yay! More Erk X Priscilla fans! We shall rebel against the evil, twisted one that is Serra! She does not deserve my Erky's love! –cough- anyway, I thank you for your critique, but I would like to say, as I think I've said earlier, that this fic is written in a more modern-day kind of way than anything else…and I decided to give Priscilla a little more spunk; you know, just because it's the opposite of her original personality. I messed up everything else, why don't I just go on to mess up the shy little girl that is Priscilla? I mean, no one has the personality that they're supposed to. Take Pent for example. He doesn't sound very formal at all in this story, but in the game he's quite a bit more…how should I put this…er…noble? XD …oh, and just to clarify, I took "Mary-Sueish" to mean 'plain'…is that what you meant? Again, thank you very much :)  
**BeautyofReglay: **haha…yes, like the flower c(-: we'll just have to see what happens when Erk tells her, won't we? Muh hahahahahaha…  
**Cool-Chan: **haha you're probably right c(-: thanks!  
**Serra's evil twin: **-is shocked and dismayed- but Emmanuel is the most adorable name ever! –sobs- yeah, that would be pretty kewl heehee  
**Paladin2007: **…oops XD I sort of wrote chapter six and _then_ got your review…XD

All right, now that that's over with, we can now proceed with the second order of business: disclaimer!

Pent: w00t.

Right, right. So, Fire Emblem and all characters and places associated with it are not the product of my messed-up imagination but is instead the product of all the people who slaved over a whole ton of stuff to create the wonderful game we have today…yes, I'm talking about those kind folks at Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Those guys are the coolest XD

* * *

**Chapter Six: The Truth Hurts** (Note: my research in swordfights failed me…so…no swordfight detail! Sorry) 

"Well, well, well," Iris laughed five minutes later when she had Raven at sword point, his sword well out of his reach, and on his back at her mercy. "What happened to 'I never lose'?" Raven grunted, not very happy at all, and refused to reply. "Sorry, darling. It was inevitable…my father's sword has never failed me yet. But, on the bright side, love," she grinned. "You won't have to go to confession. By the way…what's your name?"

"My name?" Raven said blankly, then scowled. "You don't need to know that,"

"Oh, on the contrary," Iris replied silkily, tilting his chin up to see his face better. "I think I do."

"Fine…but you have to tell me yours, too." Raven compromised.

"Ah, that's where you're wrong again," Iris giggled. "You see, I have the power right now to slit you in two, and your sword—" she glanced momentarily over at his sword, ten feet away. "—Well, I don't think you can use it right now…I think you should agree to my terms…unless of course you _want_ to die, sweetheart."

"You wouldn't kill me," Raven sneered. Iris paused, glaring into his red eyes just as fiercely as he was glaring into her violet ones. After a few seconds of this, she sighed and relented, sheathing her sword once more.

"You're right. It would be a shame to waste such a beautiful man…I don't know if I'll ever see one as adorable as you again in my lifetime."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Er…I'm not going to kill you." Iris restated, blushing faintly. "But I _did_ win, you know," she reminded him as she offered him a hand to help him get up. "And I would like to know your name instead of choosing to kill you."

"I suppose that sounds fair," Raven acquiesced, refusing her aid in favor of struggling to his feet on his own. "And I suppose you want unhindered passage through our ranks whenever you see fit to grace us with your spectral presence, as well?" he added, retrieving his sword.

"Of course," Iris replied cheerfully, watching him with an air of expectance. "Well?" she smirked when he didn't say anything. "Your name, sir?" his eye twitched. He didn't want to tell her, but something told him that if he lied, she would know.

"Er…my name is…uh…" Raven hesitated, searching for a substitute name. "…Jay?" Iris folded her arms across her chest and gave him a look that plainly said, "yeah, right."

"You're lying to me," Iris informed him in a singsong tone. "What's your _real_ name? Come on, it's not _that_ hard of a question." she said impatiently when he hesitated.

"Oh, all right," Raven sighed after a few seconds of spluttering. "My name's Raven. Okay, it's really Raymond," he said hastily when she quirked an eyebrow at him. "But nobody calls me that…and _lives_," he added, snarling and trying to look menacing as possible. Iris stifled a snigger behind her hand. "What?" he said indignantly. "You have a problem with my name, miss?"

"No, no," Iris said, trying to keep a straight face. "It's very…typical." she burst out laughing at his quizzical expression, then stood up on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. "Well, I've had my fun for tonight…I suppose I'd better get back home before dawn breaks. Farewell…_Raymond_," she let out another little giggle as she walked away, leaving Raven feeling very stupid, embarrassed, and rather incredulous.

"Get a hold of yourself, Raven," Raven murmured to himself as he watched her disappear into the undergrowth. "No woman's worth the suffering they put you through…"

* * *

"Erk! Hey, Erk!" Hector, kicking the rebellious teenager in the ribs in an effort to wake him up, said loudly. "Wake up! We have to ask you something. Something we're _all_ curious about." 

"Leave me alone," Erk mumbled blearily, pulling his cloak over his head. "I'm trying to sleep…"

"No, Erk," Hector replied adamantly, kicking him again and receiving a satisfactory response of 'ow!' from the recipient. "This is vital information we need to talk about. It could mean life or death for you, kiddo."

"Huh?" Erk replied, lifting the cloak from his head and squinting up at him. "Why?"

"I'm kidding…I was trying to wake you up."

"Oh," Erk said, then shrugged and dropped it down again.

"No, seriously, Erk," Pent, using his authority for once, said to his student, who was being a little unreasonable due to sudden interruption of his sleep. "Come on, get up!"

"All right, all right," Erk muttered, feeling around in the darkness in an attempt to find his boots. "I'm up…"

"We brought you some food," Lyn said brightly, showing him their peace offering of porridge and bread. "Teenage boys like food." she grinned at their brilliance, but her face fell when he stared blankly at it.

"Er…who…cooked it?" Erk inquired. "And how long ago?"

"It wasn't Louise, and it was just made a few minutes ago," Pent informed him.

"Oh. Okay, then. Is Priscilla up yet?" Erk asked, accepting the 'gifts'.

"Yes, she is. But Raven's torturing her until you give us a suitable answer." Hector paused for a moment to let this sink in.

"…All right, then," Erk said, raising his eyebrows. He knew Raven would never hurt Priscilla on purpose under any circumstances, so they must have been joking. "What kind of torture?"

"Oh, the most horrible of all," Eliwood replied grimly. "Raven is administering…oh, it's too horrible to say."

"It's the Tickle Torture," Pent told Erk, rolling his eyes expressively at the melodramatic trio of lords. "But we still need answers, kid, because I'm tired of waiting for you to just tell us. Want to hear the questions?"

"Er…I guess," Erk responded warily, not too eager to hear what they had in store for him.

"All right…first question: what the hell?"

"Yeah, I know," Erk sighed.

"No, seriously! What the hell?" Hector implored.

"Um…I'm Erk. I'm fifteen years old, I'll be turning sixteen in a few months, and I have purple hair."

"Hmmm…Erk, eh? Write that down," Hector instructed Matthew, whom Erk hadn't noticed before. Matthew scribbled something down as Erk looked on, very perplexed.

"So…what's going on, again?" he asked apprehensively.

"Oh, don't worry," Pent said soothingly. "We're just going to look this all over and determine whether or not you're lying."

"Why would I lie about my age, hair color, and name?"

"Well, you never know…you could be a redhead." Lyn pointed out.

"This is ridiculous," Erk declared, shoving a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. "Next question."

"Okay. Where are you from?" Eliwood queried.

"Etruria."

"No, no…more specifically, please. What city?"

"Ehh…somewhere around Reglay."

"Lies!" Hector supplemented. "All lies!" Erk, by this time, was starting to get a little annoyed as Matthew recorded his every word.

"All right, then…" Pent continued. "Who were—or _are_—" he added pointedly, scanning his face for any sign of reaction to this change of words. "—your parents?"

"Insignificant farmer people," Erk lied. "They grew potatoes."

"You can't grow potatoes in Etruria," Pent snorted.

"Oh. Sorry, I meant beans."

"Uh huh. _Sure_ they did," Hector said sarcastically.

"Did you have any brothers or sisters?" Lyn asked. "If so, what were their names? Or," she added pointedly. "What _are_ their names?"

"All right, I think I've had enough," Erk proclaimed, finishing off his porridge and bread. "Why don't we continue this questionnaire tomorrow?"

"Oh no you don't," Hector said, blocking his way out.

"Not this time!" Pent informed him, taking him by the shoulders and steering him back towards his cot.

"Sorry," Lyn said cheerfully, taking his bowl and throwing it outside, where it hit a random person (Serra) who cried out in pain and was concussed as a result.

"Okay, so let's recap…you're a fifteen-year-old purple haired kid from 'somewhere near Reglay', your parents grew beans, and you claim that your name is 'Erk'. Is that correct?" Hector inquired.

"Yes," Erk sighed. "And what do you mean, I _claim_ that my name is Erk?"

"I'm afraid that's classified information," Lyn said silkily.

"Huh?" Erk said blankly. "What are you talking about?"

"Okay, whatever. We'll find out the truth someday. Come on…let's go tell Raven to leave Priscilla alone now." Eliwood suggested to his companions.

"Well…that was odd," Erk remarked to himself when all four of them had left. He felt bad about lying, of course, but he'd been doing it for three years already and he wasn't about to stop, just in case he endangered himself. He didn't want a troupe of demanding people to be the first to know about him, anyway…if anyone would need to know, it was Priscilla. But he decided not to worry about it at that particular moment and got up to get ready for another long day of marching around.

When he left his tent, however, he immediately saw that things were getting pretty weird around camp. As he was walking around in search of more food, Priscilla staggered over to him, giggling uncontrollably, and collapsed into his arms.

"Are you okay?" Erk inquired of her, concerned yet starting to laugh himself.

"No—I'm not—" she laughed. "Tickle—Torture—" and she then dissolved into another fit of giggles.

"I'm sorry you had to be tortured for my sake," Priscilla's only response was laughter. "They were questioning me about some meaningless things, and I still don't know why."

"That's all right," Priscilla responded. "Give me a hug and I'll think about forgiving you."

* * *

"He's hiding something…" Hector mused, pacing around while he was lost in his thoughts. 

"Remind me again why we care?" Lyn said. "I mean, we don't know anything about Lowen, and we aren't pestering _him_ for personal information."

"Yeah, but Lowen doesn't act suspicious," Hector pointed out exasperatedly. "And for cripes sake, he's lived with Pent for three years and he hasn't told him _anything_ about his family except that he doesn't have one. I think he's lying."

"Well, he's certainly not about to tell us, so why don't we just drop it?" Eliwood suggested.

"I agree," Lyn agreed.

"But he could actually _be_ somebody! Like…like one of those Kuivanen kids Pent was babbling about earlier. The one with the name no one can remember?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Hector," Lyn scoffed. "No one survived. And if you _wanted_ to investigate that so bad, you should have let us stop at the cathedral to see the portrait." Hector scowled.

"Well, yeah, but…" he thought for a second, then sighed. "I guess I have to give _that_ one to you…but still."

"I think he's entitled to a certain amount of liberty from having to tell us these sort of things. It _is_ a little personal." Eliwood supplied.

"You two are right…I honestly don't know what I was thinking…Kuivanen…pfft…"

* * *

"Hey, Raven," Erk said cautiously, walking up to Raven, who was scowling more than usual (which meant he was in a good mood for some reason) and sharpening his sword with an air of intent. "What's up?" 

"No," Raven replied, not even looking up. "You can't marry my sister, you lout."

"Damn," Erk said under his breath. "Er…why not?"

"Because you don't deserve her love and I hate your guts."

"Oh. Well, that's okay, then. But if _I_ don't deserve her love, who does? I mean, she'd be happy with me, wouldn't she?"

"She's delirious. She doesn't know how much pain and suffering love will cause her."

"That comment was a little more negative than I'm used to out of you, Raven. Is something wrong?" Erk jumped and turned around to face the speaker of this comment and saw Priscilla, looking at him adoringly and giving him a wink before turning back to her brother. "Is there anything you want to talk to me about?"

"That depends on how much you heard."

"I heard, 'how much pain and suffering love will cause her'. Did I hear too much?" Erk, beside her, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, I'm not talking with _him_ here," Raven said, looking at Erk pointedly.

"Erk, darling," Priscilla said cheerfully, turning to him again. "Don't you think it's time you went to bed? Teenage boys need their rest."

"But it's eleven o'clock in the morning," Erk replied, puzzled, after looking up at the sun. Priscilla cleared her throat and gave him 'the look' and he immediately changed his mind. "Then again, I could use a nap."

"All right, then…sweet dreams, my love," Priscilla said sweetly, giving him a gentle shove in the back. "Right…so, Raven," she said after Erk had walked off in a very confused manner. "What's up?"

"Well," Raven mused, pausing in his efforts to make his weapon even more lethal. "I assumed you would be able to help, since you're a healer and all, because I feel rather…sick."

"Sick?" Priscilla repeated, intrigued. She sat down on the ground next to him. "What kind of sick? Sick to your stomach, sniffles, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, dizziness kind of sick?"

"Er…yes. The 'sick to your stomach' and 'dizziness' parts. And I'm sort of depressed, too. I don't really know what to do with myself…what to think, what to feel…is there something wrong with me?"

"Yep. There is," Priscilla said grimly, trying to keep a straight face.

"There is?" Raven said, alarmed. "What's wrong with me?" Priscilla giggled, unable to stop herself.

"Aww, Raven, it's only the most serious condition there is…"

"…Am I going to die?"

"No, no, don't worry…pretty much everyone gets it eventually. I've got it…maybe even worse than you do."

"Is it…bad?"

"Of course not, silly," Priscilla laughed. "Raven, you dolt, you're in love!" Raven's jaw dropped. "So, who is it?" she demanded. "Rebecca? Farina?"

"…Mockingbird…" Raven mumbled, a faint pink tint coming to his cheeks.

"Awwww! That's so sweet!" Priscilla giggled, then stopped after a second. "Wait…what did you say?"

* * *

So…yeah…kind of…random. And short. And lame…I'll do better next time, I promise XD but the dramatic irony is getting kind of intense. –cheap French accent- love is in ze air! Aww! 

Pent: -shakes head sadly- w00t…

Er…yeah. So, anyway, Chapter seven will probably be a little better…with any hope…


	7. Chapter Seven: Lover Boys

Ehh…I seem to be experiencing a bit of writer's block…so…this might be even worse than chapter six…

Pent: _(raises eyebrows) _w00t?

Yes, things can be worse than that, generic Pent (or I hope so, at least). Anyway…

**Cool-Chan: **lol. Thanks a ton XD (Pent: _(stares)_ w00t…)

**Serra's evil twin: **yes, as I said with my cheap French accent, love is in ze air! Poor Raven doesn't know what love is XD

Right, so remember, I did not take any part in the making, programming, editing, or distributing of the Fire Emblem game for GBA…all those peeps at Nintendo and Intelligent Systems did all that XD so I can't take any credit for their coolness :3

And…and…and…and…yeah…

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Lover Boy(s)**

"So…you're in love with her, and you don't know her name?" Priscilla asked her older brother incredulously.

"Something like that…" Raven muttered, his cheeks turning very pink. "If that's what you call it…"

"Well, do you have trouble finding words to say when you talk to her?"

"…Yes…"

"Do you get a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach when you see her?"

"Yes…"

"Does your heart stop for a second when she smiles at you?"

"Yes…"

"You're in love, all right. You poor thing…she doesn't seem like the type who'll stay around long enough for you to have an intelligent conversation with her."

"No, she doesn't."

"Well, when do you suppose you'll see her again?"

"I don't know…tonight…tomorrow night…weeks…months…years…"

"Aw, don't be sad, Raven…being depressed won't help anything. You never know, maybe she feels the same way about you."

"That's very…doubtful," Raven, thinking of how she had teased and taunted him, remarked.

"Well…we women don't often make a point of allowing men to understand what we're trying to tell them, so maybe you're assuming the wrong thing. Or maybe it's just part of her personality…she seemed kind of outgoing when she talked to me." Raven didn't respond. "So…what are you going to do when you see her next?"

"I know what I _want_ to do, but I don't think it would be appropriate."

"Well, just try to make friends with her, and maybe you'll get a hug."

"But I'm bad at that."

"I know…that's why you'll need my help."

* * *

"Hey, Matthew? Can I ask you something?" Erk, across the camp, inquired of Matthew hopefully as he was sorting through random stuff. 

"You just did. But I guess I can allow you one more question," Matthew replied, setting aforementioned random stuff aside. "What's up?"

"Well…let's just assume for a minute that I've got this…secret…thing."

"Yeah?" Matthew's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "What kind of secret?"

"Er…a big one."

"Wow. That's really specific, Erk."

"Well, let's _suppose_ that it's one that I've been keeping from…er…everybody…for a really long time."

"Yeah? Are you going to tell me?"

"I wasn't…planning on it…"

"Ah. I see how it is. Proceed."

"Er…if I were to tell someone like…oh, let's say…Priscilla…do you…do you think she'd get…mad?"

"Priscilla?" Matthew seemed even more surprised. "She gets mad?"

"Sometimes."

"Well, if this secret is as big and secret and personal as you say it is, I think you'll be okay. I mean, I've talked to her. She thinks you're a…" Matthew looked around furtively and beckoned him closer to whisper into his ear. "_Sexy beast_."

"She does?" Erk blushed.

"Oh, totally. And that's a direct quote. I think you could tell her anything and she'd get over it eventually. If not immediately. Unless you're like, lying about who you are or something. Then that dispute might take a while. And she might get mad. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe."

"Oh," Erk's face fell. "Really?"

"Are you serious? You're lying about who you are?" Matthew asked, intrigued.

"Uhhh…no?"

"Fine, you don't have to tell me. Well, I hope that helped you out and everything. Are you going to propose to her or something?"

"Uhhh…maybe?"

"Really? How sweet. Well, good luck…I'd hate to see a kid like you get their heart busted."

"…Thanks, Matthew."

"No problem, Erk. Anytime. You do know that our entire conversation is going to be repeated to Hector, right?"

"What?" Erk said, looking almost panicked. Hector didn't need to know any of that…especially not the 'sexy beast' part.

"I'm just kidding," Matthew laughed at his expression. "I'm not _that_ cruel."

"…" Jaffar disagreed.

"Did I ask for your opinion? No, I didn't," Matthew snapped at him while Erk walked away. "Shut up!"

As Erk strolled along, looking for Priscilla, Nino and Serra suddenly ran up and accosted him.

"Hi, Erk!" Nino said sweetly. "Can we ask you something?"

"Um...do I have to answer?"

"Well, duh!" Serra responded, rolling her eyes. "It's _really_ important!" Erk sighed.

"What is it, then?" he asked warily, rubbing his aching temples. "Make it quick, okay? There's someone I need to see…"

"Well, we know that you love Priscilla and everything," Nino began. "But we were arguing about it earlier and we wanted to know—if you couldn't have Priscilla under extreme circumstances, which one of us would you choose?"

"Why the hell would you want to know that?"

"Because, it's very crucial that we know these things, Erky!" Nino insisted. "We're girls, you know. Girls like to be liked."

"If I had to choose…" Erk mused, weighing his options. Both of them were very annoying, both of them had loud hair, and both of them were obsessed with him. There wasn't a lot to go by. "I guess…Nino."

"Really?" Nino said, her eyes lighting up in her joy.

"WHAT? Nino? Why?" Serra demanded, outraged.

"You're the one that asked," Erk reminded her, rolling his eyes. "And Nino's cuter than you are, anyway. Not that she's cute or anything."

"I told you he likes me better!" Nino declared, then skipped off in a decidedly better mood while Serra sulked away, in a decidedly worse mood.

"Ugh…so annoying," Erk murmured, going off on his way again. Those two got crazier every time he talked to them.

Eventually, he came across the place where Raven and Priscilla were conversing again and approached them again.

"There he is!" Priscilla said happily. "Here, Raven, Erk's a great person to talk to about this stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Erk inquired cautiously.

"Stuff about love and that kind of stuff. Sit down, won't you?" Erk did as he was bidden. "Now, Raven, this is probably one of the best examples you can get. Do you remember when we first met, Erk?"

"I…prefer not to talk about that," Erk blushed.

"Erk didn't know who I was, either. And he didn't know he was supposed to escort me. In fact, he just started flirting with me, and I thought he was just the cutest thing—" Erk muttered something incomprehensible under his breath; probably some sort of excuse for doing such a thing. "—and then Pent told him, of course, and he was _so_ embarrassed…I never even gave him reason to guess that I was fond of him…in fact, I teased him a lot, and I still do. Maybe that's what's going on with your little lady friend, Raven."

"Lady friend? Raven?" Erk echoed, astounded.

"Yes! Isn't that sweet?" Priscilla giggled.

"Is it Rebecca?"

"No…" Priscilla said in a singsong voice. "It's his friend, little miss mockingbird. He's taken a fancy to her...haven't you, Raven?"

"Did you _have_ to tell him that?" Raven muttered.

"Of course. Everyone's curious about her. Do you have even the faintest idea who she is, Erk?"

"Uhhh…maybe?"

"Really? You do?" Raven piped up immediately. "Who is she? Do you know?"

"Well, I'm not sure," Erk said hastily. "I just…I don't know…I feel like I've met her somewhere before."

"Oh," Raven, disappointed, said, relaxing again. "You don't…know her name or anything?"

"I could only guess," Erk shrugged.

"The only thing she told me about herself is that she's seventeen…"

"Oh, good," Erk, pretending to be relieved, laughed. "I was thinking she was like, my mother or something. But if she's seventeen, she can't be my mother…that'd be ridiculous. Eh heh."

"Well, if you're awake when she goes to see you at night, would you mind sending her to me? Well, that is, if I don't get to her first…"

"All right…I'll be sure to do that."

* * *

"Hey, Emmanuel," Iris said cheerfully, walking into Erk's tent that night. "Your guards are sleeping, by the way. Aren't you up a little late?" 

"I'm reading," Erk replied, but set the book down anyway. "So…what's up? Any reason why you're here?"

"Why do I need a reason to come and visit my little brother?" Iris asked.

"Well, you could be here for a different reason."

"Like what?"

"I don't know…maybe to…see Raven?"

"Raven?" Iris responded blankly. "Who's tha—? Oh! You mean Raymond? Ha ha! He's so funny."

"He is?"

"Yeah; he's sort of handsome, too. Where does he sleep? I think I'll go and steal his boots."

"Steal his boots?" Erk echoed incredulously as she started to walk out.

"Yeah…I do that to a lot of boys…they get mad at me," Iris giggled.

"O…kay…" Erk said, quirking an eyebrow as she left to go and find him. "That's a little…odd…"

And so, Iris went out to go look for Raven's tent. When she finally found it, she also found out that he was still awake as well.

"Blast…don't you ever sleep, Raymond? I was going to steal your boots, but since you're still awake—" Iris, showing up out of nowhere and making Raven jump, said irritably. Raven interrupted at this point.

"Steal my boots?" he echoed incredulously. "You've already stolen something of mine, miss, but I don't think I'll ever get it back."

"What?" Iris replied blankly. "I don't remember—"

"Oh, it's not a material possession. It's more of a…sentimental thing. So…what are you doing here?"

"Well, I _was _going to steal your boots, but I guess I could stay and talk for a while."

"Really? You're not going to run away or anything?"

"No, I trust you enough…unless you wanted a rematch, of course."

"No, that's quite all right. I don't think I could ever match you."

"That's the spirit!" Iris said cheerfully, sitting down next to him. "You know, you should consider yourself lucky…I don't usually linger in one place for very long."

"I've noticed."

"So…how's life?"

"Dull."

"Oh. That sounds fun."

"…And then you came along."

"…I beg your pardon?"

"What's your name?"

"My name?" Iris responded quizzically, caught off guard. "It's Iris. Why?"

"Iris?"

"What? …Did I just tell you my name?"

"Yes," Raven informed her, the ghost of a smile crossing his face.

"Ooooh, you should consider yourself _very_ lucky now! I haven't told anybody my real name since I was six!"

"Don't be angry…give me a hug."

"A hug?" Iris echoed indignantly. "And _why_ should I give you a hug?"

"Because you were going to steal my boots."

"Yes, but I do that to everyone, and they never got a hug."

"But, since I'm awake, I could keep you here forever and turn you in tomorrow morning. Our commanders don't take kindly to intruders in our camp, you know."

"…You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, trust me…I would. So, would you rather be turned in to the authorities, or will you give me a hug?"

"Why do you _want_ a hug?"

"Because…I do that to everyone."

"Why do I not believe you?"

"Oh, come now…you're overreacting. It's just a hug."

"I don't know if I should…don't you ever smile?"

"No."

"Why not? If you'll smile for me, I'll give you a hug."

"But I don't like to smile."

"And I don't like to hug people! I'm not that kind of girl."

"Yes you are."

"Okay, I am. But I don't want to hug you; you're mean."

"Why am I mean?"

"Because you made me tell you my name, that's why! I think that's very mean."

"Hey, Raven?" a new voice said sleepily. Both Raven and Iris turned around to behold a sleepy Nino, who was clutching a stuffed bear and looked like she was sleepwalking. "What's the difference between a duck?"

Raven and Iris stared at each other quizzically after this strange question.

"What?" Iris said, excessively confused.

"Nino, go back to bed," Raven ordered Nino.

"But I need to know the difference between a duck!" Nino whined.

"Go ask Lucius!"

"Okay…bye…"

"Maybe I'd better go…" Iris thought out loud, starting to get up.

"No, don't go!" Raven cried, standing up before seizing her wrist. "…Please?" he added for better effects when she glared at him.

"Do you think I'm just one of those girls who would spend the night with any man she comes across just because she can?" Iris asked him irritably, trying to free her wrist from his strong grip. "Don't think I'm going to stay here just because you want me to! I only came here to say hi to Emmanuel, and then I decide I want to steal your boots, and here I am—"

"Emmanuel?" Raven repeated blankly. "Who's that?"

"Er…my…friend?" Iris replied.

"…There's no one named Emmanuel here…"

"Um…yeah. He lives um…not too far from this site…so…er…"

"…Why do I feel as though you're lying to me?"

"Because I…am?"

"That's what I thought. Who's Emmanuel?"

"Oh, no one important…give me a hug!"

"All right." Raven replied, then promptly forgot all about it.

* * *

So…Erk's secret is still safe…but for how long? O.o 

Pent: _(shakes head sadly) _w00t…

Yeah, that was pretty pathetic, I agree…

_(real Pent walks in) _

Real Pent: Hi, Psychotic. I found an opening in my schedule and _(spots Generic Pent)_—who the crap is that?

Generic Pent: w00t!

Oh, that's Generic Pent. Remember how you told me to get a generic muse?

Generic Pent: w00t.

Real Pent: Um…doesn't he say anything else?

Nope.

Real Pent: …This is an insult to my intelligence.

Oh. That sucks.

Real Pent: I'm afraid I'm going to have to burninate your muse.

Generic Pent: w00t?

O.o that doesn't sound good…er…so…chapter eight will be along as soon as I can get it up. As usual.


	8. Chapter Eight: Step One

Chapter eight!

Generic Pent: w00t!

The Real Pent has kindly decided to ignore his schedule for today and is currently trying to burn down the Generic Muse Warehouse. He says he's coming back for Generic Pent, but I don't think we have to worry about him.

Generic Pent: _(grins at locked, bolted, boarded up, etc. door) _w00t!

But, even if we do, I have to write chapter eight in both circumstances. So…yeah.

**Paladin2007: **yeah, no action sequence :-/ sorry! I'm glad you think it gets more interesting, because I keep getting less ideas XD I don't know if you can get a generic muse now that the Real Pent is blowing up the warehouse, though.  
**Serra's evil twin: **o.o yes, naughty Iris nearly spoiled everything.  
**Cool-Chan: **haha my friends tell me that, too… "-insert real name here-, why do you always have to beat yourself up?" XDDD

Right, so Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems…as in not me. So…you can draw your own conclusions as to what that means…

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Step One**

"What the—?" Raven cried the next morning, being unable to find his footwear. "Who stole my—boots…" he trailed off, seeing that a pair of boots that looked strangely familiar were standing next to the door. "Oooh, that girl really _did_ steal my boots! Now, whose are these?"

"Something wrong, Raven?" Priscilla said dryly, passing by and checking to see what the problem was.

"She stole my boots!" Raven whined. Priscilla quirked an eyebrow.

"Er…_who _stole your boots?"

"That girl!"

"…Okay, Raven, maybe you'd better go back to sleep."

"Do you know who these belong to?" Raven inquired, holding up the boots for her to see. "They look like girl boots."

"Well, then maybe she swapped boots with you. If the boots fit, wear them, and quit your whining…"

"…Okay."

"How did I end up with such a crazy brother?" Priscilla, exasperated, asked Erk when she exited her "crazy brother's" tent.

"What happened?"

"Oh, some girl stole his boots, and now he's flipping out…" Erk, after she said this, was trying very hard not to laugh.

"That's…interesting," Erk replied, fighting to keep a straight face.

"Be glad you don't have any siblings, Erk…they're just plain weird. Brothers in particular…all boys are weird."

"Boys are weird, eh?" Erk grinned, having found a reason to. "And why is that?"

"Well, they're very strange people to begin with…a lot of them are under the impression that they're the cutest ones around, and they're not allowed to show emotions or they'll be ridiculed by other boys. They whine when things don't go their way and they suck up to girls…they're just…very…different."

"Really?" Erk smiled, taking her hand in his and holding it to his chest.

"Yes, really," Priscilla replied. "They're a bunch of brats."

"And girls aren't weird?" Erk inquired craftily.

"Not nearly as weird as you boys are," she responded. "See? You're sucking up, just like I said. All boys do that."

"Girls think that nagging is a sport," Erk retorted, slipping his free arm around her waist. "And they're picky, they worry too much about how they look, they change moods at the drop of a hat, and they aren't very nice people in the morning. But you know what?"

"What?"

"I like girls. They make me laugh. But there's this one girl I know that makes me feel better when I'm sad, gives me a reason to wake up every day and go to sleep at night, gives me the strength I need to go on, _and_ makes me laugh. I love that girl very much, and I will for as long as I shall live. Do you know who that girl is?"

"I think I might. You know, I know a boy like that. He's pretty cute."

"Yeah? Well, that girl is the prettiest girl I've ever known."

"Aww…I love you, too, Erk."

"What? I wasn't talking about _you_."

"Oh, really? Then who were you talking about?"

"Haven't you figured it out by now? That girl is you, Priscilla."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I was ready to kick your butt for a second, there, little boy...if you were seeing someone else, I'd have to hurt you. Badly."

"You would, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, I certainly would."

"Well, it's a good thing I don't plan on it, then. I can't imagine loving anyone else than that cute little redhead with the green dress and the feather in her hair. Oh, wait," Erk laughed. "That's you, isn't it?"

"Could be…so, you like girls, eh?"

"Yup."

"Too bad…I still think boys are weird."

"That's okay…I think girls are weird, too. But I still like them."

"Probably because you're a boy." Priscilla smiled.

"That could be part of it." seeing a perfect opportunity for a little kiss, they were about to proceed with this when, predictably, someone ruined the moment. Again.

"Hi, Erk," Louise said cheerfully, showing up very randomly on his other side and interrupting this little scene (to the disappointment of Erk and Priscilla, who hadn't had a chance to do _anything_ lately without someone intervening). "What's your real name?"

"What?" Erk said blankly. "Um…you know my real name. It's Erk, remember?"

"Okay, where are you from?"

"Lady Louise, what's going on?" Erk inquired, starting to get a little annoyed.

"So, who's that girl with the purple hair in the black dress? Do you know her? Hmm?"

"Why are you asking me this, again?"

"Because Hector told me to."

"Don't listen to him…he's a loser."

"Okay!" Louise replied, then took off again.

"…Why would Hector want to ask you something as crazy as that?" Priscilla wondered aloud. "And why does he think your real name isn't Erk?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Priscilla." There was a small silence as Priscilla paused to think.

"…Is there something you should be telling me, Erk?" she asked him at length.

"What? Is this another one of those things you do to try and get into my head?"

"Huh?" Priscilla said blankly (very articulately, of course). "What things?"

"…Nevermind."

"But seriously…are you keeping secrets from me?"

"Uhhh…maybe?" Erk hadn't anticipated this question at all. Did she suspect him, too?

"You know I don't like secrets, Erk."

"Er…I might have one…that I've been…er…keeping from…a lot of…people…"

"…And...?" Priscilla said, gesturing for him to go on when he didn't continue as she expected. "What is it, exactly?"

"Um…I love you."

"Aww…how sweet…except I know that already. What else did you want to tell me?"

"I…um…" Erk searched for words, trying to find a way to avoid the situation he was already in. "Maybe…we should discuss this…elsewhere."

"I don't see anyone around here; I thought it was a pretty good spot. But if you don't feel comfortable, maybe you want to go somewhere where every one can hear?"

"Oh, look! It's er…a rock! We can't talk here, the rocks might tell on us."

"Erk, that's crazy!" Priscilla said impatiently. "There's nothing out here _but_ rocks!"

"And potatoes have eyes, and corn has ears, and—"

"If you think you're getting out of answering my question, Erk, you are very mistaken. You know me…I can be just as stubborn as my brother, and I'm not going to let you leave until you tell me what's going on."

A small silence followed this remark.

"…Okay…" Erk sighed. "Maybe you'd better sit down…this could take a while."

"That bad, eh?" Priscilla remarked, sitting down gracefully on the ground. Erk sat down next to her.

"Well, that depends on how you take it, I suppose. But…could you promise me something?"

"Of course. What is it?" as she spoke, Erk took her hand in his and held it tightly.

"No matter what I say, do you promise not to hate me?"

"Hate you?" Priscilla laughed at the absurdity of this statement. "How could I ever _hate_ you? I don't even love _Raven_ as much as I love you."

"…Do you promise?"

"Well, I suppose if it will make you feel better about it, then yes. I promise."

"Okay. I don't want you to hate me."

"I couldn't without hating myself, too."

"We'll see how you feel after I tell you this…" there was another small silence, and Erk sighed again. "I don't know where to begin…"

"It's usually best to start at the beginning."

"All right…I'll start from what you know. Everyone wants to know my 'real' name all of a sudden, and I don't know how that trend started. They think I'm lying about where I came from. Everyone thinks I know something about that…girl…" Priscilla nodded, encouraging him to go on. "And…I'll tell you right now…those rumors are…" he hesitated slightly. "Well…they're…they're correct." He paused for another moment to let this sink in.

"So…you're lying about where you're from? And you _do_ know something about her?" Priscilla clarified.

"Basically, yes."

"Oh. That's…nice."

"…Do you hate me now?"

"No, no, of course not…I'd like to hear more, though. Do you know who that girl is?"

"…Yes…"

"So…who is she?" Priscilla prompted.

"Her name is Iris," Erk said quietly. "She…she's my sister."

"What?" Priscilla said, sounding rather hurt, after a stunned silence.

"Priscilla, I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Erk said hastily. "I just didn't—"

"I was going to name our daughter that!" Priscilla pouted. "Oh, well…life goes on…continue."

"Oh…" Erk said in relief. "Well…all right…um…so…yeah."

"So, you're lying about where you're from, eh? Could you elaborate on that a little bit for me?"

"Er…I told them that my parents were normal people who live on a farm and grow vegetables. And I'm from somewhere around Reglay."

"…Okay…and this is another lie, right?"

"Right."

"And you're going to tell me the truth, right?"

"Um…"

"Erk…" Priscilla said dangerously, giving him 'the look'.

"Right, right," Erk said hastily. "Okay, first of all, my parents weren't your everyday normal people. Mainly because they were noble."

"Really?" Priscilla said, intrigued. "And you never mentioned this when you're trying to tell Raven why you can marry me because…?"

"Because I was trying to protect myself. There's a reason why I'm lying about everything."

"Oh, so you've got a reason, eh? Is it a good one?"

"You hate me, don't you?"

"Erk, I do _not_ hate you," Priscilla laughed. "I just want to know. Besides, you're the one that brought it up."

"That's true…well, anyway…yeah…my parents were noble. And we _did_ live somewhere around Reglay…until the city was attacked and everyone died, that is."

"…Somewhere around Reglay? And it was attacked? Erk, that sounds a lot like what happened with—"

"Kuivanen," Erk supplied. "I know. That's because that's where I lived. My father was the marquess, my mother was the marchioness, and we lived in the castle. That portrait in the cathedral is of my family and I. I was little when it happened, and I changed my name to protect myself from the threat of bandits…I didn't know if they were still around, whether they were out to get me—"

"You changed your name, too?" Priscilla squeaked, as this fact had just registered itself in her brain. This was getting more and more complicated every time he added a sentence to his story.

"Well, yeah, wouldn't you?" Erk said blankly, thinking this was obvious.

"I…I suppose…assuming I found myself in such a position…"

"I was four. I was scared. I thought my entire family was dead. Do you understand why I did it?"

"Yes, of course…so…you're marquess Kuivanen's son? Wouldn't that make you—?"

"If the village existed anymore, then yes, I would be the marquess." Erk finished for her. There was a long, awkward pause.

"…And…what's your real name?" Priscilla inquired.

"I figured you'd be asking me that next…it…" Erk looked around, seeming very uncomfortable. "It's…okay, it's Emmanuel." At this, Priscilla let out a wail of despair that lasted for several seconds. Erk stared at her, perplexed. "Uh…Priscilla? Are you okay?"

"I was going to name our son that!" she cried, looking very disappointed. "It's so _adorable_!"

"Oh…" Erk didn't quite know how to reply to this. "Er…sorry?"

"No, it's okay," Priscilla assured him, looking almost tearful. "So…how'd you get 'Erk' out of that darling, sweet, charming little name that I decided I was going to use when I was five?"

"Priscilla, are you sure you're all right?" Erk laughed. Priscilla nodded with a little sniffle. "I'm sorry we stole your names."

"Now I'm going to have to find new ones…" Priscilla sulked.

"I don't mind if you still name him that. People are still going to call me 'Erk', anyway, because it's a lot easier to say and not nearly as time-consuming. But anyway…you ask me how I figured 'Erk' out?" Priscilla managed to nod again, resting her head on his shoulder for support. "I used my initials. Well…the first two, anyway."

"If your middle name is Roshaun," Priscilla growled. "I'm going to have to hurt you."

"…" Erk replied sheepishly.

"Aaaagh! You _brat_!"

* * *

And…end scene…okay, there's chapter eight. And it's even more pathetic than the last one. 

Generic Pent: w00t.

You weren't supposed to agree with me.

Generic Pent: _(sheepishly)_ w00t…

Well…I don't know when we can expect the Real Pent back…

Generic Pent: _(sadly) _w00t.

Yeah, he's probably gotten rid of all of them. You must be the last Generic Muse. Unless someone else got one.

_(Real Pent enters) _

Real Pent: Well, I'm glad that's over. Now for the last one…

O.o naughty Real Pent is out to get my generic muse. Someone has to control that guy. Well, chapter nine will be up as soon as this problem is settled…and…er…when I actually write it…


	9. Chapter Nine: Rocks, Boots, and Random S...

All right…now that I've finally stopped procrastinating…

Real Pent: FINALLY! I thought you'd never stop! Where'd you put my book of Elfire?

I put it somewhere where you can't reach it.

Generic Pent: w00t!

Real Pent: -finds Elfire book- um…on top of the fridge?

O.o um…no! –takes Elfire book- but umm…I would like to introduce some little cuties I found playing outside of the _burned down_ –glares at Real Pent- Generic Muse Warehouse…they almost look like they were little Generic Pents that weren't fully grown yet. Everyone, say hello to Iisakkri and Sakkri—if you can't pronounce that, call them Zak and Zeke.

Zak/Zeke: Hi!

Aww, they're the most adorable things ever! –hugglez them- they're like mini-Pents! I can't tell them apart, though, and they're major tricksters.

Pent: O.o

Generic Pent: w00t!

Yeah, that's what I thought, Pents. Now, on to the review replies.

**Serra's evil twin: **my ever-faithful reviewer! (or one of them) I thank you for your kind words.  
**Cool-Chan: **-tackles- my OTHER ever-faithful reviewer! Haha they get more hilarious every time XDD I'm very glad that I actually have FANS! –faints-  
**Lord of Swords and Waffles:** XDD I love the name, especially since I'm kinda hyper right now. If you want to know what Raven looks like with Iris' boots, maybe you should find someone to draw a couple of pretty pictures for me. –hinthint to all artists- :D I hope Generic Pent will survive the Real Pent's wrath, too o.o  
**Paladin2007:** that's a good idea! –grins evilly at Real Pent- XD

Okay…Zak, do the disclaimer.

Zak: -pouts- FINE! …Okay, Psychotic says that Fire Emblem doesn't belong to her. She didn't make it up. And…yeah. All that kind of stuff.

Good job, Zak. –pats on head- He's just so CUTE!

Zak: Yeah, I know.

All right…so…on with the story!

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Rocks, Boots, and Random Stuff**

"Well," Priscilla sighed. "I'm glad you decided to tell me all of this, Erk…the whole 'Emmanuel Roshaun' thing is kind of disappointing, of course, but I suppose I'll live…have you told anyone else?"

"No. You're the only one."

"…Are you planning on telling anyone else?"

"Maybe."

"So, does that mean I have to keep my mouth shut?"

"Probably."

"All right, then…no problem," Priscilla said. Erk had just finished telling her everything about everything, and it was already about midday. It was also very hot, so they were using the shade of a large oak tree nearby to escape the harsh sunlight. Maybe back then, they didn't know that body heat was actual heat, and if Raven saw the way they were sitting together, he probably wouldn't have approved, mainly because he didn't approve of them being within four feet of each other.

"So, you don't hate me?" Erk asked again after a long, pensive pause.

"No, I don't," Priscilla reiterated. "I don't hate you and I'm not upset with you, so don't worry about it."

"Okay. Just making sure," Erk said, a little more reassured than the last time he had asked her this.

"I find it a little odd that Hector isn't jumping on everyone's throats," Priscilla mused after another silence. "I thought we'd be leaving by now."

"Yeah, that is a bit strange," Erk agreed. "Maybe we should go see what's going on?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Priscilla replied as Erk took her hand and kissed it. "Oh, stop it," she giggled when he proceeded to kiss her cheek as well. "You know I hate it when you try and butter me up."

"I'm doing nothing of the sort," Erk declared, starting to stand up. After accomplishing this feat, he helped Priscilla up, and after a quick hug, they set off.

"Emmanuel Roshaun," Priscilla mused to herself. "From Kuivanen?"

"It sounds better when you say it," Erk remarked. "But don't waste your time blurting out all those syllables…'Erk' is fine."

"Well, if you stole my son's name, you have to use it," Priscilla said silkily. "Then I won't feel guilty about finding a new one, _Emmanuel_."

"Okay, fine…it's not _my_ voice you're wearing out…just don't call me that around everyone else until they know, all right?"

"All right. I still think it's adorable, though."

"Well, I suppose it's fitting, then, isn't it?" Erk replied flirtatiously.

"You are so full of yourself, little boy," Priscilla laughed, shoving him playfully. "But you're right…you _are_ pretty cute."

"You don't look so bad yourself," Erk grinned.

"Hey, kids," Hector said, randomly walking up to them and seemingly in a good mood. "Oh, sorry, am I interrupting your lovesick ceremonies?"

"Er…no?" Erk said blankly.

"Well, good. We aren't leaving for another couple of hours. And no, it's not just because Raven's boots were stolen and got switched with some girl boots that he can't squeeze his enormous feet into."

"That's good to know," Priscilla rolled her eyes.

"Well…um…whatever…hey, Priscilla, you're a girl. Does my hair look okay?" Hector asked very randomly.

"Er…I…guess…"

"Okay. Have fun, you lovebirds."

"So…before _that_ happened…" Priscilla, extremely confused, said as Hector went off to flirt with some random girl.

"What were we talking about?" Erk wondered aloud.

"Good question. Why don't we go and annoy Pent?"

"That sounds like fun," Erk agreed, following after her.

"All right, Iris," Raven growled that night at a rock. "Give me back my boots, you whore!" he paused for a moment in thought. "No, that won't do…" Raven happened to be practicing what he was going to say to Iris when (or if) she came back, but he was having trouble finding words that would be effective enough and still be politically correct at the same time. "Er…give me my boots, or I'll—no, I shouldn't threaten her…"

"Raven, are you talking to rocks again?" Hector inquired curiously, looking down at him where he sat practicing on the ground with the rock.

"Er…yes?" Raven replied, sounding just as puzzled. He wasn't about to tell him about Iris, after all. Then she would _really_ hate him.

"…Um…do you want someone else to guard tonight?" Hector asked concernedly.

"No, no, that's all right," Raven replied hastily. "I can handle it."

"…All right, but you'd better take a break tomorrow night. I think the lack of sleep is getting to your head."

"Right. All right…now, give me my boots, woman!" Raven snapped at the rock as Hector walked away, very amused. "Your girl boots don't fit me, and my feet hurt. If you loved me at all, you'd give them to me…that won't work, either, damn it. She doesn't love me."

"Are you talking to that rock?" a familiar voice inquired. Raven looked up and saw his boots. He scowled, looked up some more, and saw the person wearing his boots, who happened to be Iris.

"Iris! Give me back my boots, you whore!" Raven snapped at her. After a second, he realized what he had just said. "_Damn_! I wasn't supposed to say that!" inexplicably, Iris laughed.

"Raymond, you're so funny!" she said. "I knew you'd react like this when I stole your boots. Interesting greeting, by the way."

"May I have my boots back?" Raven pleaded. "…Please?" he added for better results.

"I don't know if I should give them to you," Iris said innocently. "They're very comfortable…even though they smell like feet."

"Iris…" Raven growled. For some reason, being menacing didn't work on this strange woman. She laughed at what other people would run away screaming from, like his signature Evil Scowl of Death.

"Yes, Raymond?" Iris replied sweetly.

"Give me my boots. Now."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. It's an order."

"Ah. Well, I suppose if you insist…" Iris sighed, starting to give in. "But I'm not giving you yours until you give me mine."

"That sounds reasonable. Why don't you sit down and stay for a while?" Raven suggested, moving over so she could sit down.

"I don't know…I think I'd rather lay down." Iris replied, then proceeded to lie down on the ground beside him instead. "What?" she laughed when he stared at her. "I'm tired!"

"Er…all right, then," Raven said, sounding a little nervous even to himself. "Do I get my boots back now?"

"Sure, why not?" Iris responded in the affirmative, then took his boots off and set them off to the side. "Now, where are mine?"

"Right here," Raven answered, producing them. "I couldn't even squeeze my toes in them. Why do you have such small feet?"

"Why do you have such _big_ feet?" Iris retorted. "And why is your hair red?"

"That's not something I control," Raven said defensively.

"Well, I don't control how big or small my feet are, just like you don't."

"…Sort of like how you can't control how beautiful you are?"

"Yeah, sort of like that," Iris replied off-handedly, looking up at the dark sky. "What are you looking at?" she asked him irritably, noticing he was staring at her.

"Ah…you."

"Well, could you stop? It makes me feel uncomfortable, like I'm some sort of deformed freak that everyone gawks at."

"You're not a deformed freak, Iris," Raven informed her, deciding to lay down himself.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Iris smiled at him. "…_Now_ what are you doing?" she said in exasperation after a small silence when he slipped an arm around her waist.

"I'm stealing your sash," Raven replied.

"Oh. Well, let's just pretend you did already and then gave it back. There's an idea."

"That's a good idea." Raven agreed.

"So…you're going to move your arm now, right?" Iris said pointedly.

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Well, you are now," Iris told him, sitting up and edging away. "Haven't I already told you I'm not like that? I'm not stupid; I know what you're doing. You're just like every man I've met, so all you want me to stay for is so that you can satisfy your perverted mind for one night and then be rid of me in the morning…I'm not falling for it!"

"What makes you think I'm going to do that to you?" Raven asked irately, seizing her wrist as she made to run away from him. "Not _all_ men are like that, and _I'm_ certainly not."

"I don't think I know you well enough to determine that," Iris replied coolly, clawing at his arm in an effort to get him to release her. Raven, undaunted, persisted.

"I don't think you know me well enough to judge me that quickly, either," he pointed out. "You're awfully cautious about this sort of stuff, aren't you? I just want you to stay so I can get to know you better…you're a very fascinating woman, you know…but you don't keep still long enough for me to talk to you. All right, I'm sorry I was so forward," he said when Iris gave him a look of pure venom and redoubled her efforts. "Won't you please stay, just for a little while? I won't hurt you, I promise…I only do that to people I don't like." Iris glared at him for a moment, then sighed in exasperation and laid back down, resting her head on his chest.

"I'm sorry," she said, sounding sincere. "I just…I don't know. I've known too many men who just wanted me as a trophy and didn't care about me at all…I'd like to get to know you better, too, but I'm afraid…"

"Really?" Raven said, seeming rather flattered.

"Yes, but don't go and get a big head over it," Iris said, rolling her eyes at his tone. "You should consider yourself lucky…you're the first man I've ever had this long of a conversation with that isn't related to me." There was a small silence, during which Raven toyed idly with a strand of her hair.

"The moon is bright tonight," Raven remarked after a while, gazing up as she was into the cloudless night sky.

"Yes, it is," Iris agreed, dimly noticing his warm fingers intertwining with her own to rest slightly above her waist. "You touch the sword, you die," she added fiercely, slapping his hand as he reached to remove it from her side.

"You know, sometimes I think you love that sword more than you love me," Raven informed her crossly, shaking off the stinging pain before brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"I do," Iris said matter-of-factly.

"Gee, thanks," Raven responded sarcastically.

"No problem. Don't be mad…you learn not to trust anyone when you live by yourself for as long as I have."

"Ah."

"If it's any consolation, I trust you more than I trust a lot of people. Would you save my life if it was ever required of you?"

"Of course I would."

"Well, good. Do that and I'll trust you even more. Hey, could you let me go for a minute? I need to talk to Erk before he falls asleep on me."

"How do I know you're going to come back?" Raven inquired suspiciously, still clasping her hand tightly in his when she sat up again.

"What, you think I'd rather stay by myself all night again?"

"Er…sort of. Did you say you wanted to stay with me? Not your sword?" Iris looked at him in disgust, rolled her eyes, and left anyway. "Damn…too forward again."

Oddly enough, when Iris ventured over to Erk's tent, he wasn't in there. She puzzled over this for a few moments before remembering his little girlfriend and set off to find her. When these efforts failed, she decided to give up and go back to Raven when she saw the two people she was looking for walking around the woods together.

"What are you kids doing up at hour?" Iris asked, faintly amused.

"We're just taking a walk," Erk said, nettled.

"Oh. Well, that's okay, then." Iris said, running up to join them. "So, what's up?"

"Not much," Priscilla grinned. "I saw you over there with Raven, Iris…"

"You know my name?" Iris said in surprise, ignoring her other statement.

"Yeah, Emmanuel told me everything…and you stole my daughter's name. I'm Priscilla, by the way. Nice to meet you." Iris made an indignant voice.

"You stole _my_ daughter's name," Iris pouted.

"Oh. Well, I guess we're even, then. Is Raven harassing you?" Priscilla asked eagerly. "You know, he's _never_ acted like this before around girls."

"Really?" Iris said, raising her eyebrows, though not entirely surprised.

"You'd make the cutest couple," Priscilla commented, smiling sweetly. "Don't you think so, Erk?"

"Huh? No they—I mean, yeah, yeah, they would," Erk agreed hastily, wincing as Priscilla stepped painfully on his foot.

"I don't know…he's nice, I suppose." Iris said off-handedly. "Well, I'll leave you lovebirds to your activities…just don't let yourselves get carried away. Wait until you're married."

"Er…all right," Erk replied as Priscilla giggled and Iris started to walk away. "Whatever that means…"

"Hey, Raymond," Iris said upon her return to the edge of camp where Raven sat. "Did you miss me?"

"Yes," Raven replied, scowling. "Stop calling me that!"

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then I'll have to kill you."

"Now, that's not very nice…besides, you wouldn't be able to do it, silly. It's obvious that you're smitten with me." Iris commented, sitting down again and wrapping her arms around her knees. Raven winced.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked, embarrassed.

"Yep. It's quite apparent. I think that's sweet, by the way. Most boys think I'm too quiet and strange and mysterious."

"You love your sword too much."

"I was just joking!" Iris laughed. "I think I can make an exception for you in that aspect. But I hear you're supposed to be on guard, so I'll leave you to that…I'll probably be back tomorrow night."

"What?" Raven whined, disappointed. "Why do you want to leave me? Don't you love me?"

"Don't push it, Raven," Iris warned, standing up. "If anyone catches us together, remember, there'll be hell to pay." Raven jumped to his feet before she had a chance to leave, prompting Iris to look at him like he was a freak before he seized her shoulders and kissed her firmly on her rose pink lips.

"Hey! Raven!" someone shouted indignantly, seeing them after a good five seconds of this. "What do you think you're doing with her, you lout? She's _mine_!"

* * *

Raven ish a naughty boy o.o

Generic Pent: w00t!

Zeke: Don't you say anything else?

Real Pent: No, he doesn't. Isn't that annoying?

Well, sorry it took so long to get this up…I'll try my best to get chapter ten done within the week. School's getting a little demanding lately, and I'm too lazy, anyway.

Zak: You've got that right!

So…yeah. We're getting near the end of the story, by the way…just a couple more chapters.

Real Pent: _(sarcastically) _Gee, that's a bummer.

Ahem…-glares at Real Pent- until next time…


	10. Chapter Ten: Trapped

Zak: Hi!

Zeke: Psychotic finally got chapter ten up!

Generic Pent: w00t!

Yes, it's amazing…I finally stopped procrastinating long enough to write this!

Real Pent: -gasp- Really? That's incredible!

And…uh…yeah. I guess I'll just do review replies…

**Cool-Chan:** XD yeah, it is kind of weird to see Raven like this, isn't it? We're all used to the scary mercenary person that doesn't smile like, ever XD  
**Ostian-Maid:** You're so weird XD  
**Serra's Evil Twin: **Yeah, we're getting close to the end…it's a tragedy, isn't it? Oh, well…soon after this I might get another story out that's even weirder than this one! (Real Pent: Is that possible?)  
**Lord of Swords and Waffles: **"cute but weird"? That's good, right? XD –hides- you've got ESP…how did you know it's Hector?  
**TheReader: **Aww, thanks! Short, yet ever so sweet –blushes-

Zeke: I wanna do the disclaimer, Psychotic! Can I? Pleasepleaseplease?

Sure, Zak. (They're so _cute_!)

Zeke: -pouts- I'm ZEKE, Psychotic! Zak is my brother!

Oh…sorry…

Zeke: Well, anyway…Psychotic says that she does not own any aspect of Fire Emblem, mainly because she didn't make it up and Nintendo and Intelligent Systems did! That wouldn't be fair if she took credit.

Generic Pent: w00t!

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Trapped**

"I came to check and make sure you're guarding the camp, and instead I see you locking lips with a girl that obviously has it bad for _me_?" Hector snapped at Raven, approaching them. Raven completely ignored him. "Um, hello?" he said irritably. "Didn't I just tell you to get away from her? She's an intruder, you know! You aren't supposed to be sucking face with intruders; you're supposed to terminate them, seeing as you _are_ the guard! Raven, are you listening to me?" it was pretty obvious that he wasn't, but after a few more seconds, Raven pulled away with a loud, deliberate smacking noise before turning to address Hector, leaving Iris gasping for breath.

"Hello, Hector," he said coolly. "Why are you still up at this hour?"

"I already told you, I'm making sure you're doing your job…and you're not! I suppose it might not have been your fault; she might have seduced you, but—" Hector looked at Raven and sneered. "—probably not. Sorry to burst your bubble, lover boy, but I'm going to have to take the girl with me."

"What?" Raven said, panicked, as Hector pried Iris out of his arms and forced her wrists together behind her back. "Where? Why?"

"Enough questions!" Hector snarled, taking her sword away before leading her off to a separate tent for containment.

"Let go of me, you coward! Give me my sword back and we'll see how strong you are then!" he heard Iris snap.

"Oh, shut up!" Hector replied irritably. Raven hesitated before running after them.

"What are you going to do to her?" he demanded.

"Oh, I don't know," Hector replied lightly, not even looking over at him. "I'll have to ask Eliwood what he wants to do with her. It'd be a shame to see such a pretty thing go to waste, eh? Here…hang on to this for me, will you? Go back and protect the camp, you idiot…try to redeem yourself." With this remark, Hector handed Raven Iris' sword that he had taken away from her.

"But—" Raven started to protest.

"You're leaving the camp unprotected, Raven! Get back there! _Now_!" Hector spat, not at all in the mood to argue. Raven stopped running alongside him and watched helplessly as Hector led a struggling Iris off. He looked down at the sword, in its sheath, tracing the intricate carvings with his eyes and trying to formulate a plan. After a few seconds' thought, he returned to his post to await the dawn, when he could commence his plan of action…

* * *

"Erk! _Erk_!" Raven hissed several hours later, shaking the sleeping teenager in an attempt to wake him up. "Come _on_, wake up! I need your help!" eventually, Raven got fed up and kicked him very hard in the back, after which Erk cried out in pain. 

"Okay, I'm up, I'm up!" Erk said sleepily, wincing as he sat up. He was going to have a nasty bruise there pretty soon. "What's wrong? What happened? Are we being attacked?"

"It's Iris," Raven whispered. "Hector found her and tied her up in Merlinus' tent—"

"He _WHAT_?" Erk practically shouted, waking up properly. "Did he say—?"

"I don't think they're going to kill her…yet," Raven replied, anticipating the rest of Erk's question. "But I need to get her out of there, and you're the only one that can help me…"

"Do you have a plan?" Erk inquired urgently, searching around frantically for his boots.

"Yes, I do," Raven replied.

"What do I have to do? Just say the word and it's half done."

"…This is important to you, eh?"

"Well, yeah, isn't Priscilla important to you?" Erk replied, thinking it was obvious that his sister's life would mean something to him.

"…What?" Raven said blankly. "You mean Iris is your—?"

"Uhhh…no time to explain!" Erk interrupted, as his brain had reminded him too late that Raven didn't know anything about this. "What do I need to do?"

"Well," Raven started, quirking an eyebrow at him. "What I need you to do is this…" at this, Raven proceeded to outline his entire plan to Erk, who listed attentively. "Oh…and you'll be needing this," he added after telling him his part in the plan and exactly what to do. He unhooked Iris' sword from his side and held it out to him.

"I can't use swords," Erk reminded him, staring at it perplexedly.

"I know…it belongs to Iris. _She'll_ need it, so give it to her after you've untied her." Raven paused, looking sternly at him. "And remember, Erk…there's no room for failure."

"Right," Erk gulped nervously. He took the sword, scooped up his spell books, and raced out the door.

"Good luck, Erk," Raven called after him. "You'll need it, you blundering idiot," he added under his breath. He then took off to do his part in the plan, which involved distracting Hector and Eliwood before they had a chance to determine Iris' sentence. However, he couldn't resist sneaking a peek inside Merlinus' tent to see her…just in case something happened. He slinked through the shadows into the night, avoiding tents that had pale lights from lanterns glowing in them, and finally made it to the tent. Kent stood outside of it, apparently the prison guard for tonight, trying to keep his eyes open and leaning on his lance sleepily for support and every once in a while jerking his head up as though trying to prevent himself from dozing off, only to catch his eyelids drooping again. This required a bit of improvisation on Raven's part, and he approached Kent, who immediately twitched back to alertness, looking wildly around for the source of the impending footsteps.

"Who goes there?" he inquired shakily right before Raven stepped into the light. "Oh…Raven…" Kent visibly relaxed and sounded very relieved. "It's just you…d-did you need something?"

"No, not really," Raven replied casually. "I was just coming to check on the prisoner…"

"Hector said to keep you away from her," Kent informed him. Raven shot him an Evil Scowl of Death, and Kent started stuttering even more. "H-Hector said—"

"I just want to see her," Raven growled, stepping towards him. He was a good five inches taller, and Kent was already petrified of him without the height difference. "Are you going to let me pass?" he inquired, glowering down at the terrified cavalier malevolently. He was rewarded with a frightened squeak from Kent, who nodded and got out of Raven's way. He sank down to the ground, hugging his knees close to him and sucking his thumb in fear. "That's what I thought." Raven smiled internally. That was the way people were _supposed_ to react to him…fright. Of course, Kent was a big sissy, but that was beside the point…

When Raven slipped inside the tent, dodging random knickknacks such as swords, vulneraries, books, and the like that were scattered everywhere, he looked around to find something a little different (such as a purple-haired girl), and, as luck would have it, he found a little something like that under one of the shelves.

It was now that one could realize exactly how defenseless the poor girl really was. Her hands and feet were tied together with thick, expertly knotted ropes, leaving her no choice but to remain in a sitting position as she slept fitfully in the small space where she obviously thought she could hide. There didn't seem to be any way in or out of the tent at this point without waking up the entire camp, and Kent certainly wouldn't allow that, no matter how scared he was of him. So, he could only look in at her, powerless to do anything that might help her in the most remote way…she looked so sad and alone, even though she was still as pretty as a wildflower. But, as Raven reminded himself, wildflowers don't last very long if you put them in a vase…especially not irises.

She was sleeping so restlessly that it was a wonder to Raven that she had slept through the commotion he had caused. Someone else obviously hadn't slept through it, as the sound of someone's footsteps started to approach. Raven looked around for a moment to try and see where it was coming from and rushed off down another path to go and do what he was supposed to be doing. Erk was a smart kid, as Raven reasoned to himself, and he'd figure out a way to get into the tent without making too much noise, get Iris, and get out.

After he had thought this, Raven shook himself internally. Erk? A smart kid? He shook his head sadly. What _was_ he thinking?

* * *

Erk himself was already prepared to proceed with his part of the plan, but the arrival of Hector by Merlinus' tent made this impossible. 

"Raven, where are you?" he muttered to himself under his breath, expecting Raven to show up any minute with a distraction. Erk was just within hearing distance (but not necessarily comprehensible distance), and, by the sounds of it, Hector was talking to Kent about something. After a while, Kent walked off, only to be replaced by a protesting Heath a minute later. Hector proceeded to give Heath (who was still in his pajamas) his instructions, after which Raven finally showed up, looking panicked.

"Hector! There's a disturbance over by the south end! I need your help!" Raven cried frantically (naturally, this was a lie).

"Great," Hector replied, wrinkling his nose in distaste and buying this story immediately without question (Raven usually didn't joke about this sort of thing). "Heath, you stay here and guard the girl…don't let _anyone_ near her, you got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," Heath grumbled, less than enthusiastic, as Hector and Raven raced off. Erk couldn't help but grin. This was too easy…guards that didn't like their jobs were always simple to get past. Of course, this meant that he didn't have a lot of time and approached Heath immediately, trying to look casual. "What do you want, Erk?" he asked sleepily when he finally saw him.

"Hey, Heath," Erk replied cheerfully. "What's up?"

"You're high if you think you're getting past me, kid," Heath replied parrot-style, his eye twitching. Erk almost laughed out loud. He was half-asleep.

"You look tired, Heath," Erk remarked innocently.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," Heath mumbled.

"You want me to take over for you? I'm not tired at all." Erk suggested. Heath woke up immediately.

"I _love_ you, kid," he declared, taking off immediately. "Ha ha! _Sucker_!" he whooped as he ran off back to his tent before Erk could change his mind.

"What a sap," Erk snickered. Now the only problem remaining was how to get into the tent without making everything clatter around and direct Hector's attention. He decided that the best way to do it was to clear the counter of all the crap Merlinus had stacked around and climb in through there. So, he set about doing this, unaware that someone was watching him in the shadows.

Erk proceeded to shove all the random trinkets and various items to the side, leaving enough room for him (and, later, Iris) to crawl through. The next obstacle that Erk hadn't thought about was the fact that he was too short to get up on the counter, which was several feet off the ground, and actually get in there. He cursed his stupid teenage body for prolonging his long overdue growth spurt (at least his voice had already changed long before he had joined this group; that would have been terribly embarrassing to sound like a little boy alongside all the other, older men), but he eventually managed to lever himself up and over after several failed attempts.

The person who had been watching him all this time with no small amount of amusement walked right up to the counter and watched Erk some more as he looked around to see where Iris was. After a small period of frenzied search all around the tent, he found Iris, who was looking very forlorn, curled up in her little niche. He rushed to her side and stooped down to her level, then administered a very sharp poke to her ribcage in an effort to wake her.

"Iris! _Iris_!" Erk hissed in her ear, continuously poking her. "Oh, for Elimine's sake…" he breathed in exasperation. "Iris! Wake _up_!" it immediately became clear to Erk that he was wasting his time, so, as there wasn't any time to waste, Erk immediately set about examining her bonds. He snorted in disbelief at their lank security. "Ropes? Hector, you're such an idiot…" a simple incantation later, Erk had conjured a small spark upon the ropes (which obviously weren't fireproof), and in no time, the tiny flame grew and burned through the makeshift shackles effortlessly, like a knife through butter. As soon as this operation was finished, Erk blew out the fire and her hands and feet were free. As an added bonus, the shock of having something on fire near her also woke Iris up.

"What are you doing!" she yelped when Erk pinched out a tiny flame from the end of a lock of his hair that had accidentally caught fire.

"Rescuing you," Erk answered. "Is that bad?"

"Oh," Iris relaxed visibly. "I thought you were trying to set me on fire or something."

"I already did," Erk replied off-handedly, tossing the charred ropes away and trying not to laugh at her horrified expression. "Come on, I need to get you out of here; we don't have much time, and we might get—" Erk stopped himself in mid-sentence, as he had turned around to see Pent standing at the counter, smiling in a rather ominously serene manner. "—Caught," Erk finished fearfully. "…Shit," he cursed under his breath. They were so close, too.

"My, my, would you look at that," Pent said cheerfully, smiling at them both. "You must be something special, miss. Why else would little Erk here risk trying to save your life?" his smile widened at Erk and Iris' stunned silence. "Well, Erk…I think you've run out of places to hide. Now, let's try this again…who exactly is this girl, Erk? And don't try to lie to me," Pent warned. "I'll know…you may start talking whenever you're ready. The more you talk," he added softly. "The harder I'll plead with Hector for your lives…"

* * *

Zeke: Man, Pent! You are such a jerk! 

Generic Pent: w00t?

Zak: Not you…him! The Real Pent!

Real Pent: Shut up, you stupid brat. You're just jealous because I'm cooler than you.

Zeke: -glare-

Zak: -growl-

Zak/Zeke: -pounce on Real Pent-

Er…yeah. Sorry it's so short, and er...sorry the title is so lame, but it gets the point across, right?

Generic Pent: -eats popcorn; watches Zak and Zeke- w00t!

Okay, I've got a fight to watch…uh…I mean, break up. Heh heh. I'll get chapter eleven up as soon as I feel like it…could be a while XD


	11. Chapter Eleven: Confession

Zak/Zeke: HI!

Zeke: We won the fight!

Real Pent: ouch…

Hahaha he got beat up by a couple of five year olds…

Real Pent: I was going easy on them!

Generic Pent: -rolls eyes- w00t…

I agree, Generic Pent…he _is _a retard. Nice black eye, by the way, Real Pent.

Real Pent: -scowls- shut up!

Well, anyway…review replies!

**Cool-Chan: **it didn't really take that long at all XD you're probably one of my most amusing reviewers, so thanks!  
**Montblancerkerk: **interesting name o.o lol I love their personalities, too…they're fun to write with. And I'm sure you're not a bad author. Not compared to me, anyway!  
**Paladin2007:** Yes, Raven and Iris make an adorable couple heehee…(Real Pent: I don't like you, either!)  
**Serra's Evil Twin:** no, I really don't like Kent…he's icky! XD  
**Lord of Swords and Waffles:** XD your name still cracks me up…Kent is just…blahhh…I really can't stand him; Sain's way better! I torture characters I hate. Actually, I torture characters I love, too. Right, Pent? (Real Pent: -glares- I hate you.)

Generic Pent: w00t! (_Translation: Psychotic does not own any aspect of Fire Emblem or any of its related characters. They actually belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. And I'm cooler than the Real Pent. He can't even take on two five year olds._)

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Confession  
**  
Erk swallowed, looking back up at Pent, who was waiting patiently with a tranquil smile for him to begin.

"Well?" Pent inquired further, his smile widening. "Who is she?"

"Um…Iris?" Erk began. "This is Pent. Pent, this is Iris…my er…sister."

"Sister?" Pent seemed mildly surprised. "Hm…interesting. Is she younger or older than you?"

"She's two years older than me…seventeen," Erk added before Pent could wonder how old he 'really' was.

"Seventeen?" Hector, showing up randomly from nowhere, echoed enthusiastically. "Awesome! Are you single?"

"Ah. So…where are you two from?" Pent inquired, shoving Hector out of the way.

"…" Erk didn't say anything.

"Where are you from?" Hector demanded. "Tell me or I'll kill your girlfriend!"

"Shut up, Hector," Pent snapped, pushing him away again. "Take your time, Erk. Just ignore this idiot."

"Kuivanen," Erk muttered.

"What's that? Speak louder, I'm unable to hear you," Pent said innocently.

"Kuivanen…we're from Kuivanen," Erk responded.

"Bless you," Hector said. Iris shot him a nasty glare and he wisely shut up.

"Really?" Pent said (having ignored Hector as usual), his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. "Were you on holiday or something when the city was attacked?"

"…We're Marquess Kuivanen's children," Iris growled, glaring at him as well. "We're the two little children whose bodies were never found…because we're very much alive, thank you."

"Right, right…I knew that…you know, Erk, I wish you would've told me that earlier. I mean, it would have been a lot easier to explain to Count Caerlon that Priscilla wanted to marry a noble than having to pull all those strings and _pretend_ that you _might_ be noble. Seriously. That would have saved me a lot of trouble."

"Oh, shut up, Pent," Hector said, shoving him out of the way. "So, Iris," he started, wiggling his eyebrows up and down flirtatiously. "How you doin', babe?" Iris glared at him.

"Don't talk to me," she said shortly. Hector looked rather taken aback, but Pent shoved him out of view again and resumed his questioning.

"So, I'm guessing Erk isn't your real name, then?" he said, implying another question.

"Er…maybe?" Erk replied, reluctant to say anything else. Pent gave him a look that said plainly, 'get on with it, loser'. Erk took the hint and went on. "Okay, my real name isn't Erk. It's um…Emmanuel."

"What does the 'R' stand for?" Hector inquired curiously.

"Restricted." Erk replied. "You have to be accompanied be eighteen or be accompanied by someone who is eighteen in order to see an R-rated film."

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?" Hector asked incredulously after everyone was done staring at him.

"Good question," Erk remarked.

"I meant, what does the 'R' in 'Erk' stand for?"

"Oh…well, why didn't you say so? That's my middle initial." Erk informed him.

"…What's your middle name?"

"I plead the fifth."

"You what?" Pent said blankly.

"The fifth _what_?" Hector said, extremely confused.

"The Fifth Amendment," Erk replied, as though this was obvious. "From the Bill of Rights? '_No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation._' "

"…I didn't even know what _half_ of that meant," Hector remarked, shaking his head in wonder.

"…What…the…hell…" Pent said after staring at him quite a bit longer. "Is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"What?" Erk said. "What'd I say?"

"If I could repeat it, I would…I'm still trying to process that in my brain," Hector said weakly.

"Oh. Well, whatever. I'm not telling you my middle name, and it is my constitutional right that I don't have to." Erk rephrased.

"_What_ constitution?" Pent snorted. "And since when do you have rights?"

"That's the trouble with our society," Erk sighed sadly.

"…You're crazy," Hector decided.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Erk shrugged.

"Okay, before _that_ happened," Pent continued, quirking an eyebrow at him. "What exactly happened at Kuivanen? Do you remember anything?"

"I relive it every night in my nightmares," Erk said in a rather depressed voice.

"This might take a while," Hector mused, then climbed up effortlessly onto the counter and sat, waiting anxiously for him to begin, like a little child on Christmas. "I like stories," he grinned when Pent quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Well, if you insist upon hearing it…" Erk sighed, his eyes downcast as he fiddled with the fastenings on his cloak.

"We do," Hector assured him.

"All right, then," Erk said, taking a deep breath. "The fall of Kuivanen…something everyone's been trying to forget for a year and a decade now…help me out, will you, Iris? You probably remember it better than I do…"

* * *

It was a day like…well, like every other day. A little girl frolicked happily in the garden, her violet pigtails bouncing as she skipped around. The child's mother sat in a chair beneath the shade of a tall oak tree, cradling a small boy in her arms. Everything seemed peaceful until the back doors of the castle flung open suddenly, causing the children's mother to look up in alarm at the person who had just entered: none other than her husband, the marquess.

"Come; there's no time to explain, my love, but we need to get away from here," the man said hurriedly to his wife, scooping up his tiny son.

"Where are we going, daddy?" the little boy inquired sleepily, having just been awakened from his nap.

"Not now, Emmanuel…just keep your voice down and do exactly as I tell you, all right? Come along, Iris!"

"What's happened?" Marchioness Kuivanen asked her husband urgently in a low voice, pulling Iris along by the hand as she followed after him. "Is there trouble in the city?"

"Bandits," her husband replied grimly, looking wildly around for a place to hide. "I can't imagine what they could want, but we have to get out…"

They had been running aimlessly around the castle for several minutes, searching for a way out, but the marquess knew that all the entrances must have been blocked by now. He stopped in the middle of a corridor, biting his lip nervously as he tried to think of a plan while, in the distance, people were shouting, screaming in terror…the only thing he could think of was the  
safety of his children…there had to be something he could do…

"We're going to have to separate," he decided. "Emmanuel…Iris…go find somewhere that no one has ever found you, and stay there. If anything happens to us…then I want you to run somewhere, and don't tell anyone who you really are unless you're _absolutely certain_ you can trust them. If you can, go find Count Reglae; he'll take you in…goodbye, my darlings…we'll see each other again, I promise…" at this, he took both of his children in his arms, holding them for what he knew would most likely be the last time. After a while, he straightened up again and drew his sword from his side.

"Daddy…" Iris said hesitantly, looking up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"Iris…darling, it's going to be all right…just go…and don't hide with your brother; if they find both of you, I don't know what I'd do…" her mother said to her, her eyes glassy with suppressed tears. Iris and Emmanuel looked at each other, confused, as their parents hurried off to face the unknown.

"What's going to happen to us?" Emmanuel asked his older sister, who, after all, was older and probably had a better idea of what was going on.

"I don't know!" Iris sobbed, then flung her arms around him. "I don't want to die…and I don't want anything to happen to mummy and daddy! What are we going to do? I'm sorry I thought you were an annoying brat! If we live through this, I'll go through everything to try and find you…"

"You thought I was an annoying brat?" her little brother replied, sounding rather hurt.

"Er…no?"

"That's okay. I'm sorry I called you a bossy whore."

"…You what?" Iris replied dangerously. Just before Emmanuel could open his mouth to reply, a loud crashing noise reverberated throughout the hallway, sounding not too far away from them, followed by angry men's voices and heavy footfalls. The two children looked anxiously at each other, then took off running, hoping beyond hope that they would somehow make it out of the castle alive. Their father's voice rang out clear and strong as they ran, challenging the bandits.

"You're cowards, every one of you! There's not a soul in this city that you have destroyed tonight that could have struck back at your blows. Let's see how you compare to those who can fight for themselves!" at this, metal clashed upon metal as the marquess and his wife fought to save their lives and protect the hallway where their children would be hiding. Not a soul had been left alive; the castle hadn't had many guards, as no one would have predicted that anything like this would befall the peaceful city of Kuivanen.

The pair fought bravely and tirelessly against the endless onslaught of bandits, and even their leader came to realize that they would all be killed if this went on much longer. They were powerless to defeat the two, and immediately sought a way out. The bandits' chief bellowed instructions to his unpleasant crew, trying to defend himself against the marquess' attack as he did. One of the ugly assassins bent down to the ground, struck tinder to flint, and within seconds, a ring of flames erupted around the valiant pair that had been unstoppable—until now. The thugs' leader cackled with glee as the inferno roared and grew higher, consuming everything around it—there was no escaping for these nobles.

"Those bloody cowards!" the marquess roared in frustration. "Why did it have to end this way…?" he dropped his now useless sword to the ground as the flames drew nearer and embraced his wife for the last time. "Goodbye, my love…we'll be seeing each other again soon, I presume…we can only pray for their safety now…"

"My, how sweet," the bandit leader sneered. "May they both rot in hell!" he seemed to think that this was funny and started cackling again. It was starting to get really annoying.

"Boss," one of the bandits, who had several teeth missing and had a bit of a speech impediment, said in a panicked voice.  
"Boss, we's gots to get out of heres. That fire's gettin' real biggish."

"Not now, Crap-For-Brains, I'm doing my victory cackle," his chieftain replied snappishly. "Besides, they had children! We have to dispose of them, or this whole thing would be pointless, because they would come back and rebuild, despite the fact that there's no one and nothing left here for them."

"…What's 'dispose' mean, boss?" another dim-witted bandit inquired curiously.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," the leader said sadly. Then, the fire decided to eat him for supper. The rest of the bandits, seeing this, ran away screaming before they got charbroiled.

"Those kids won't last long in this," one of the smarter bandits, who had been the late leader's right-hand man, reasoned as they ran. "They're as good as dead without their mom and dad to take care of them!"

The thick, stupid, brainless bandits would never realize how wrong they really were.

Marquess and marchioness Kuivanen's children were at least a hundred times smarter than all of the bandits put together, and even the bandits knew that if you see smoke and fire, you're supposed to get away from it. So, obviously, both children were able to escape—a little sooty, but very much alive. Neither of them knew that the other had survived, but both of them watched helplessly from a distance as their home was destroyed before their very eyes, somehow still believing that somehow—some way—their parents might conceivably be alive and miraculously emerge from the smoldering dwelling, alive and well, and embrace them and comfort them like they were always there to do before.

However, when morning came, this hope had been destroyed along with the castle. Both believed that they were the only survivors. The little boy left not long after dawn's pale light shone over the horizon with only a hope of something better somewhere else, but his older sister stayed long after daylight had fully come, staring out at the smoldering ruins. After a while, she cautiously approached the shattered remains, picking her way through scorched stones and tiny, unrecognizable pieces of the former beauty contained within the castle's walls. After a period of fruitless search, something beneath the rubble glittered in the sunlight, its many facets shining out in reds, greens, blues…

Curious, the six-year-old girl brushed aside all of the ashes and gravel concealing the entirety of the gemstone, eventually revealing many more stones like it. All of them were embedded into something silver, and further excavation revealed the hilt of a sword…her father's sword. With trembling fingers, the small girl gently pulled out the entire length of the blade…it hadn't been touched by the fire by some miracle; all the engravings artfully crafted into it were still intact. Of course, it was very heavy and was almost as tall as she was, but she decided to take it with her…someday she'd be able to use it…perhaps to avenge the death of its true owner, wielded by either her or her brother…if he still lived. She didn't know, of course, whether or not her little brother had managed to escape, but she had promised to find him…and she would. Someday…

She was about to leave this place and journey to anywhere—someplace where she was sure that the bandits that had destroyed her home, family, and future wouldn't be able to find her until _she_ wanted to find _them_—, but something else in the wreckage, far off in the distance, caught her eye. At first, she dismissed it as merely a piece of glass, but curiosity finally won her over and she approached it. She realized as she looked around that this had been Emmanuel's room. Not much more than ash, stone, and broken glass lay here now, and she never would have guessed it if she hadn't already known the relative location.

The object that she had seen seemed to also be metallic, as it was reflecting the sun's faint light off of it. It was sitting right on top of the rubble as though it was meant to be found all along, and she picked it up. It was a small, circular object, made of gold with intricate carvings of wonderful, fantastic things—celestial objects, mostly. It, too, was perfectly preserved: the fire hadn't touched it. Tiny gold hinges on one side revealed that the top on it would snap open. Tenderly, she flipped its lid open, and immediately a tinny little melody started to play within it…the tune of the lullaby her mother had sung to Emmanuel. This, after everything that had happened, finally brought the tears that she had refused to cry to her eyes, and she let the tiny music box sing out its song into the chilled morning air as her mother's voice sang along inside of her mind, never again to sing…

* * *

The last few notes rang out clear and strong in the tent, leaving a long, pensive silence in its absence. Iris shut the music box with gentle fingers and set it back down on the floor with a small, dejected sigh. No one said anything for a long, long time. Many more people had gathered while Erk and Iris had been telling their story, and not one of them had said a word throughout the whole thing.

"So…" Erk sighed after at least five minutes of silence. "That's pretty much it. Both of us wandered around for ages…luckily for me, father was right about Count Reglay…eight years of wandering, and then Pent and Louise took me in…and here I am today. It took eleven years, but Iris finally found me, so I guess that's the happy ending…or beginning, depending on how you take it. Is that enough for you, Pent?"

"…Wow," Pent replied weakly, looking rather sympathetic.

"We weren't really going to kill you, by the way…and this whole 'trapping Iris in the tent and telling her that she'll be sentenced to death' thing was a plan to get you tell us that." Hector remarked.

"Nice," Raven said bitterly, making a face. "How did I fall for that?"

"People do crazy things sometimes when they're in love," Iris smiled weakly.

"That's probably why, then." Another long pause followed this remark.

"Are you two ever going to go out and kill all of those evil bandit people?" Guy, who had wished that there were more action in the story, inquired anxiously. "Fight fire with fire? Take blood for blood?"

"They're probably all dead by now…they were a danger to themselves with their stupidity," Erk replied dryly.

"Oh," Guy said, disappointed. "Wouldn't you like to, though?"

"You don't know the half of it," Iris laughed humorlessly, sounding very bitter.

"What about Kuiva-whatsit?" Hector inquired. "Think you'll ever go and rebuild it?"

"Man, those bandits would be pissed if they knew you two were still alive," Heath commented. "The entire future of the city…I can't believe they didn't make sure you were killed."

"Well, I'm glad they didn't!" Priscilla exclaimed. "Then what would I do?"

"Didn't you say you were betrothed to marquess Kuivanen's son?" Pent reminded her, smiling a bit at the irony of such a situation.

"Hey, that's right," Louise grinned. "Isn't that strange?"

"We were _almost_ betrothed," Priscilla corrected them. "We don't _have _to get married."

"Well, it's time to get back to bed now," Hector declared to everyone present. "Come on, we've got to get an early start tomorrow. Is that groaning I hear? Good! That'll teach you all not to stay up so late!"

* * *

Sorry that took so long to post…I had some family issues to attend to.

Generic Pent: w00t?

Okay, yeah, it was also due to laziness. And my idiot brother hogging the computer.

Zak: That means she'll work even harder on the next chapter!

I never said that! O.o Well, see you all next chapter…


	12. Chapter Twelve: A Happy Beginning

Here it is! Chapter Twelve! Also known as the final chapter!

Real Pent: are you serious?

For once, yes.

Real Pent: _YES_!

Zak: shut up, or I'll make your eyes match!

Real Pent: …-squeak-

Zeke: yeah, that's what I thought! …Okay, Psychotic. On with the review replies.

**Cool-Chan:** did I really? XD happy belated birthday!

**CC:** …XD 'sexy beast' is timeless…

**Serra's Evil Twin: **yeah, I know…unavoidable family emergencies… no matter how hard you try, you can't avoid those things. –shrug- oh, well.

**Lord of Swords and Waffles:** lol…I'm sorry, I was never good at battle stuff…I like romance better…but that's probably because I'm a girl XD and you're right, 'w00t' has many meanings:D

Zak: Now for the disclaimer before Psychotic goes emo on us!

Real Pent: Oh. Okay…Psychotic has no creativity and therefore couldn't possibly create a hot ass like me in a Nintendo/Intelligent Systems game that totally owns her. So, obviously, she didn't.

Generic Pent: …w00t.

Zak: Tcha. I've never seen anyone more conceited, either.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: A Happy Beginning**

"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE _TELL_ ME I SLEPT IN AGAIN?"

The rest of the night had passed without any major incidents (besides Hyperion eating some of Oswin's armor…he wasn't too happy about that), but, of course, no one had bothered to wake Hector up when morning came…mainly because they weren't awake themselves. They were now, though…you could be sure of that.

"Ugh," Iris groaned groggily, having been awakened by this. "What's his problem _now_?"

"Shut up, Hector!" Farina snapped from across the camp, obviously agreeing with Iris' point of view. A loud cry of "ow!" from Hector's tent implied that she had thrown her shoe at him again.

"He's an idiot," Raven informed Iris, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"I sort of knew that…" Iris replied. A few seconds later, she finally realized what she was doing. "Wait a second…where are we?"

"Um…in a tent, maybe?" Raven said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Your tent?"

"No, Iris…Hector's tent." Raven responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh. All right then. Just making sure."

"I'm hungry. Let's go find some food." Of course, this was just a little cover-up story Raven was using to prevent Iris from discovering his true purpose: to find Erk and strangle him. _No, that's what I _usually_ want to do…there was something else_, Raven thought to himself, then remembered. _Oh, yeah…now I remember._

"Food sounds good," Iris consented. After all, she didn't know his real plan. "What kind? Nuts or berries? …Unless you're one of those people who eat roots. Yuk."

"Wha—?" Raven started blankly. "Iris, we have _real_ food here. We don't have to eat nuts and berries to survive."

"Oh…well, I usually do. It gets kind of boring after a while."

"Small wonder you're so skinny, then…I think you'll like our food better…well, you never know if Lowen got himself eaten by Heath's wyvern in the night, so I guess we won't have real food if that happens."

"You're so strange!" Iris laughed as he helped her to stand up and dragged her along. "So, I guess you people are going to make me stay in your little army, right?" she clarified after a little bit of walking.

"Yes, of course…and if you try to leave, we'll tie you up and administer the Tickle Torture upon you." Raven added menacingly.

"I suppose it'd be in my best interest to stay, then," Iris giggled, taking his hand in hers. "That's all right…I could never leave my baby brother now that I've found him, anyway."

"You make it sound as though that's the _only_ reason you're staying," Raven pouted, sounding hurt. "What, do you love that little dork more than you love me?"

"Hi, guys!" Iris called out cheerfully to Erk and Priscilla, ignoring Raven's question completely and running over to them. Raven sighed exasperatedly as Guy looked around, wondering where the other Guys were (last he checked, there was only one of them).

"Nice…" Raven said under his breath. "First the sword, now the kid…when's my turn?"

"There's only one 'Guy' here," Guy informed Iris as she raced past him. "…Damn, she's hot…"

"You'd better stay away from her if you know what's good for you," Raven snarled at him, having heard this.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Guy said hastily as Raven shot him an Evil Scowl of Death. "Aren't I allowed to look?"

"…No." Raven replied simply. "She's mine. Back off."

"Raven, do you _have_ to menace everyone?" Matthew inquired irritably, approaching them just as Guy made a frightened squeaking noise in his throat.

"That's what I live for," Raven pouted. "Besides food…and girls…"

"You just started liking girls a week ago," Matthew snorted. "One girl in particular, I've noticed…" he added, quirking an eyebrow. Raven's scowl became more profound.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said loftily.

"Please…everyone knows you're head over heels for that girl. It's so obvious, it's not even funny."

"Lies!" Raven declared. "All lies!"

"Tell me about it," Guy remarked. Raven shot him another glare and he fell silent.

"Well, whether or not you choose to admit it, I've got some good news for you, lover boy," Matthew continued as though nothing had happened. "I've talked to her, you know…"

"What?" Raven said blankly before he could continue. "When did you get the chance to do that?"

"I have my ways," Matthew replied enigmatically, making Raven more than a little disturbed. "Anyway…she told me, and I quote, that you're 'a good kisser, a total hot ass, and really funny'…she also said something about wanting to jump your bones…whatever the hell _that_ means."

"Something tells me we don't want to know," Guy commented.

"That's what I was just thinking," Raven said, officially disturbed.

"It's better than what Priscilla was saying about Erk," Matthew observed. "That was pretty…interesting."

"Why? What did she say?" Raven demanded.

"Er…never mind."

"No, seriously. What did she tell you?" Raven persisted. Luckily for Matthew but not so luckily for Raven, Erk ran up to them at that very moment.

"Hey, guys," he said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"There's only one 'Guy' here," Guy said irritably. Erk quirked an eyebrow at him, looked as though he was about to retort, but then thought better of it and turned to Raven instead.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" both of them inquired of each other in perfect unison. Both of them frowned.

"Okay, don't do that again," Raven told him. "That was weird."

"Yeah, it was," Erk agreed. "Well, anyway…"

"Er…yeah."

"…"

"…"

"…This silence is boring me," Matthew remarked after a while. "I'm going to go find something else to do…coming, Guy?" he added pointedly.

"Uhhh…sure," Guy replied, looking back at Erk and Raven curiously as he followed him elsewhere.

"…Okay, then…" Raven said after another awkward silence in which the crickets had a rather lively conversation. "Um…I've got a question for you."

"Yeah?" Erk quirked an eyebrow. "What kind of question?"

"Er…it's a question that um…kind of…relates to your…sister."

"Really?" the other eyebrow disappeared into his hairline with the first. "What'd she do now?"

"…She stole something of mine…but I don't really need it back."

"O…kay…" it struck Erk as very odd that Raven would be acting this nervous. What on earth could he want?

"All right, I'll cut to the chase," Raven decided almost as if he sensed Erk thinking such things, then blurted out his next statement before he could start to get embarrassed. "Can I marry your sister?"

Erk stared at him for a few moments, leaving just enough time for Raven's cheeks to get very red. Hadn't he _just_ met her like, a week ago? Raven could almost hear the crickets laughing at him, as he expected Erk to be doing within the next few seconds.

"…Can _I_ marry _your_ sister?" Erk inquired in response after the uncomfortable pause.

"Crap," Raven muttered under his breath. That had backfired horribly. Unfortunately, he probably wouldn't get the answer he wanted if he didn't give the kid the answer _he_ had wanted for a long time now. So, he had no choice but to say: "All right…fine."

"Okay, then," Erk said cheerfully. "You can marry Iris, then…but—"

"If you break her heart, you're dead!" they both informed each other (once again, in perfect unison). Erk wrinkled his nose in disgust after realizing this.

"Stop eating my words," Raven scowled, obviously feeling the same way that Erk looked. "It's too bizarre."

* * *

"I wonder what those boys are talking about over there…" Iris mused aloud, looking curiously over at Erk and Raven, who were still discussing random things.

"Probably random boy stuff," Priscilla said off-handedly, fiddling with her feathery hairpiece thingy. "You know…food…girls…"

"Well, if they're talking about girls, they had better be us!" Iris exclaimed. "Otherwise I'll go over there and kick their butts."

"They could be talking about video games, too…you know, like that one Fire Emblem game? I hear there's a lot of girls in there."

"…_What_?" Iris said, freaked out, after staring at her for quite a while. "I have _no_ idea what you're talking about. What's a video game?"

"A what?" Priscilla said blankly. "I've _never_ heard of anything like that."

"You just said it!" Iris said, getting more and more perplexed by the second.

"…Well, whatever. Want to go tell them off for talking about different girls?"

"Yeah…that sounds like fun."

So, off they went to go do what had been proposed. As they approached, it became very clear that they weren't talking about other girls. In fact, Erk was rattling off a lot of scientific-sounding stuff that Raven and Guy obviously didn't understand.

"…And that's how the universe was created, Guy." Erk concluded after a series of very long words. "…Or at least that's what Lord Athos told me."

"…Ouch." Guy remarked weakly. "I think my brain just exploded."

"No, it probably _im_ploded," Raven contradicted. "So, where do you think those girls went to? They were right over there like, two seconds a—aaaaaaaghhhhhhhh!" he ended in a cry of surprise as Iris pounced on him, something that was very ladylike indeed. "Okay, never mind," he said feebly, finding himself pinned to the ground. "I found them."

"You boys had better not be talking about other girls over here," Priscilla warned, stepping a little more subtly into their midst. "Otherwise we'll have to kick your butts."

"…Interesting greeting," Erk remarked. "Do I get a hug now?"

"Wha—? Oh…yeah, definitely." Priscilla replied, stepping into his embrace. "Hey, I've got an idea…why don't we take this somewhere a little more…secluded?" _wink, wink_.

"…Ew." Guy commented simply as Priscilla, without waiting for a reply, seized Erk's wrist and dragged him off.

"Er…yeah. Iris?" Raven ventured cautiously. "Can we talk?"

"You just did, and if I couldn't talk, I probably wouldn't be talking right now," Iris remarked, quirking an eyebrow.

"No, no, no…can we go talk somewhere in private?"

"What, you can't say it in front of me?" Guy said, sounding offended.

"Um…no." Raven replied.

"Fine, then…I'll just leave…" Guy sulked, then stalked off to go find something else to do.

"…" Raven said.

"…" Iris replied. More silence.

"…Could you get off of me now?" Raven inquired hopefully.

* * *

Meanwhile, Priscilla had taken Erk to a 'more secluded' spot in the woods. No, they weren't 'doing anything'…they were just talking. About random stuff. Would you care to listen in? Of course you would. That's what you're here for.

"So, what's up?" Erk inquired of Priscilla, sitting down on a random rock. "Any reason why we need to be in an isolated place to talk?"

"Well…not really. I was thinking that we might not be just talking later on, so I decided to spare everyone else from having to see such things. You know how they are."

"…Ah. I see."

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Um…I don't know…maybe…you?"

"We always talk about me. Why don't we talk about you?"

"…You know, you're really pretty."

"Aww…thanks."

"And…um…there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about. Something involving…well, both of us."

"Really?" Priscilla said, seeming intrigued as she turned to face him. "What sort of thing?"

"…Something important…you know, something that will probably affect the rest of our lives…"

"Umm…okay…so, what is it?"

"Uhhh…" Erk hesitated, feeling around for her hand. When he found it, he grasped it tightly in his own, continuing to search for words. "Well, I was just wondering…stuff…"

"Emmanuel Roshaun…" Priscilla sighed, starting to get very exasperated with him and sounding just like a mother that was irritated at her child. "Just spit it out, will you? …Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not nervous," Erk lied, his cheeks starting to get very red. "I just wanted to ask you if…um…well, after all this crap with Nergal is over and everything…" he paused again, and the suspense was obviously driving Priscilla insane.

"Yes?" she prompted when he didn't go on. "You wanted to ask me if...?"

"Er…Priscilla?" Erk started, his cheeks turning redder as he squeezed her hand gently. "Do you want to…get married? You know, later? If your parents let us, of course," he added hastily.

"…" Priscilla said, shocked.

"…" Erk said uncomfortably as she gawked at him.

"Are you serious?" she asked softly after the small silence, her bright green eyes shining with delight.

"Uhhh…yes?"

"…"

"…"

"Aww, Erk!" Priscilla finally exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and giving him a big kiss before continuing. "I'd love to!" she giggled.

"Okay…that's good, then," Erk said in relief, patting her back uncertainly. "Wow…I wasn't expecting that to be so hard…"

"Does Raven know you were planning on asking?" Priscilla inquired concernedly. "I don't want to him to kill you or anything…"

"Yeah, he does…I asked him about it…well, actually, we made a sort of agreement."

"Really? What did he want from you?"

"Oh…nothing major," Erk replied off-handedly. "He just wanted to marry Iris, that's all…"

* * *

"Iris…I like you a lot. Let's get married," Raven said to his friend the rock. He scowled at how stupid that sounded. "No, that's too childish…" he racked his brains for something to say. "Ah…hey, Iris…we're getting married. Have a ring. …No, that definitely won't do…I don't want to _order_ her to marry me…"

"Talking to rocks again, Raven?" Hector inquired dryly as he walked past. "They don't talk back, you know…"

"Yes, I know," Raven said impatiently under his breath. "Wait…Hector, what would you say to a girl if you wanted to marry her?" Hector made a face as he stopped and looked back at him.

"Who said I wanted to marry anyone?" he spluttered. "For the last time, I _don't_ like Farina! She's a slut! Leave me alone!" he then ran off before Raven could say anything more.

"…That was random," Iris, who had just erratically shown up out of nowhere, remarked.

"Yeah, it was," Raven agreed. "I didn't know he liked Farina." Iris shrugged and sat down next to him.

"So…how's the rock today?" she inquired. "I saw you talking to it again."

"Wha—? Oh…er…it's fine, I suppose…"

"…Does it answer you when you talk to it?"

"No, it doesn't."

"Then why do you talk to it?" Iris asked him, a little weirded out.

"Ah…I don't know…"

"…"

"Hey…Iris."

"Yes?"

"We're getting married. Have a ring," Raven told her, thrusting a simple golden ring he had with him from some random place towards her. After a few seconds, he realized what he had said. "_Damn_! I wasn't supposed to say that!" he said in aggravation. Iris laughed.

"All right, Raven…if you insist, I suppose we could get married sometime," she grinned, then kissed him briefly on the cheek. "In fact, I think I would like that."

"Oh…okay, then. Why don't we do that when we've gotten all of this straightened out?" Raven suggested.

"That sounds nice," Iris smiled. "…Is that what you were talking to the rock about?"

"All right, lovebirds, pack up your crap; we're leaving," Hector ordered, walking past them again with Erk and Priscilla following close behind him, hand-in-hand. "I want to be in Badon by tonight! And no wrong turns this time; we'll have someone who can actually _read_ a map read the map!" Erk rolled his eyes expressively at Raven as they walked past, seemingly following Hector's orders.

"Of course we will," he said under his breath as Priscilla giggled. "Because it takes six days to get there from here,"

"Oh, well," Iris said cheerfully. "You got the girl, didn't you? And I'm sure you feel better about telling everyone the truth…we can go find those bandits later…"

* * *

**_Five Years Later…_**

"Crap…someone's here…and he looks like he wants to kill something," the new right-hand bandit person informed the bandit leader person. "Uh oh…there's a girl with him, too…she's got a sword…"

"Um, hello?" the man who had been approaching them shouted, pounding on the door. "What the hell, people?"

"Yeah, we know…" one of the sentries sighed.

"No, seriously! What the hell?" 'the girl' demanded of them.

"How about you let us in?" the man said impatiently. "You've got something of mine, and I _really_ want it back."

"Who, us?" the bandit leader called down innocently. "I fear you must be mistaken; we are defenders of peace and the light!"

"Oh. Well, if you're defenders of peace and the light…then why the hell did you kidnap my son!" the man (who I hope most of you have identified as Erk) snapped.

"Who, this kid?" the second-in-command bandit said as a tiny little boy with a mess of curly purple hair upon his head looked over the battlements.

"Daddy, I want to go home!" he whined. "And these guys smell funny!"

"We found this kid a few hours ago…he's um…our little friend." The bandit leader said.

"Oh, yeah? What's his name, then?" Erk inquired irritably.

"Uhhh…we don't know his name…but we didn't kidnap your son! It's all in your imagination."

"Why would he address me like that if he wasn't my child?"

"…The mind games aren't working; what do we do?" the right-hand bandit personasked his leader in an undertone.

"Um…okay, we'll give you your son back…are you going to kill us now?" the bandit leader asked fearfully, ignoring his right-hand man.

"Of course not," Iris said sarcastically. "Just give us the kid…idiots," she added under her breath.

"Tell me about it," Erk muttered. "Priscilla's probably having a fit…" as he was saying this, the large wooden door to the establishment opened slightly and someone gently ushered the little boy out with a small push in his back. "Hey, Luke…are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"No, they're too dumb," Luke replied. "I kicked them and they cried."

"They did, eh?" Erk laughed. "Well, how about this…let's play hide and seek. Gobehind that tree over there, close your eyes, and count to one hundred. And no peeking!"

"Okay, daddy!" Luke said sweetly, then ran off to do just that. However, Erk and Iris had no intention of hiding.

"I hope you're in the mood to kick some serious bandit ass," Erk said to Iris as soon as he saw that his two-year-old son was safely behind the tree, taking out a book of Excalibur that he had 'borrowed' from Pent as he said this.

"I definitely am," Iris grinned, drawing her sword. "Let's put an end to this, shall we?"

* * *

"Ninety-four…ninety-five…ninety-six…ninety-seven…ninety-eight…ninety-nine…one hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" Luke called out innocently, oblivious to all that had just happened. "Hey! You aren't hiding!" he pouted, seeing his father and his aunt step out of the building and shut the door behind them, completely unscathed.

"Yes we were; you just found us really easily," Iris contradicted.

"Come on, Luke," Erk said, scooping him up. "Let's go back to the castle and see your mum."

"Okay!" Luke said blissfully. "Bye, stupid bandit people!" he cried cheerfully as they started to leave.

"Oh, they can't hear you, sweetheart," Iris informed him, patting his curly head affectionately. "They're too stupid."

* * *

Real Pent: Yes! _Finally_! It's over!

Yep…he's right…but before I finish this up for good, I'd like to give you all a bit of insight into my next story.

Real Pent: O.o …your _next_ story?

Well, it's interesting, really…I was looking at the profile of one of my faithful reviewers one day, being bored and a procrastinator, and a statement she made caught my interest. Actually, Pent, it involved you…

Generic Pent: w00t?

…You and Louise.

Real Pent: Oh, no…

What was it that she said about you two? Oh, yes… "Only a crazy person would put them with someone else."

Zeke: …

Well, guess what?

Psychotic  
Function: Noun  
: a person judged to be legally or medically insane—see LUNATIC 

…muh hahahahahahahahaha…

Real Pent: -squeak- save me!

Well, hope to see you all then! –smiles sweetly-

Psychotic-


End file.
